Little Saigon: Writer Minh Ngữ arrested

WESTMINSTER, California. (NV) – A local woman was arrested after allegedly splashing water in the face of Tyler Diep, the city’s vice mayor.

Thuy-Hanh Nguyen, also known as Minh Ngữ, a writer and editor for Tieu Thuyet magazine, was arrested Friday following the incident, which allegedly occurred at the entrance of Ngọc Sương restaurant on Brookhurst Street in Westminster. Diep called police and and requested a citizen’s arrest on assault and battery charges, according to the Westminster Police Department.

She was taken to the police department, cited and released. A police department news release said the case will be forwarded to the Orange County District Attorney’s office for review.

“At that moment, I was just stepping out of the restaurant and Ms. Minh Ngữ splashed the water in my face,” Diep told Nguoi Viet News. “Then she said, ‘You are impolite. I will take you down.’

“So I called the police. When they came, they interviewed witnesses, and listened to the story. Then they interviewed both sides, and said that they had enough evidence to arrest her. After that, they handcuffed her and took her to the car.”

Nguyen declined to comment. “My lawyer does not allow us to say anything,” she said.

However, on Tieu Thuyet magazine’s Facebook page, Nguyen retold the story as follows:

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. When we attended the fundraiser for councilwoman Kimberly Ho at Ngoc Suong restaurant on Friday evening, June 2nd, Westminster councilman Tyler Diep called the police to arrest us, the ones who splashed the water in his face. But, law is law, [we] went to the police station, signed the paperwork, and went home…”

Diệp said he called “law enforcement to pursue this incident because I don’t want another person to become a victim of Ms. Minh Ngữ later on.”

“If we tolerate the kind of behavior like that of Ms. Minh Ngữ, then society will be chaotic and no one will follow the law,” the vice mayor said.