On January 4, police in Ho Chi Minh City arbitrarily detained activist Nguyen Tri Dung and brutally beat his mother Duong Thi Tan, who is also a human rights defender and democracy campaigner. Ms. Tan said Dung was arrested on afternoon when he prepared to leave his private residence in District 1. Plainclothes agents forcebly took him in a car and dropped away. Being informed about the illegal detention of her son, Tan went out and was attacked by other plainclothes agents. They kicked and beat her and threw her to a corner of the building in which the family lives. The detention of Dung may be related to the land grabbing in Vuon Rau area. The city's police were placing a number of local activists under house arrest on the same day in a bid to prevent them from gathering to support residents of Vuon Rau. Police released Dung in late evening and requested him to stay at home in next days. Ms. Tan is a former wife of prominent blogger Nguyen Van Hai (aka Dieu Cay), who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his peaceful activities to protest China's violations of the country's sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and promote human rights, democracy and freedom of press. He was released in October 2014 but forced to live in exile in the US. Dung is the son of their marriage. Both Dung and his mother Tan are human rights defenders, often giving supports for other activists.