A soccer star who travelled abroad with his Public Security Bureau team, Vu Song Thao was well-known figure in the Haiphong community and a respected officer.
But that all changed after an incident in 1985 when he opposed the demolition of an ethnic Chinese temple in Hong Bang. He followed this mistake by drawing attention to himself during a 1989 visit by Do Muoi, then Prime Minister and now Party General Secretary.
At the time, Mr Thao was deputy chief of Hong Bang's Public Security Bureau, and he and his superior let an old man approach Do Muoi to submit a petition. After this, Mr Thao said, he feared arrest and fled to Hong Kong with his son Toan, then 16.
For his illegal departure, his wife was demoted in her job at a state-run fuel company. His son and daughter were dismissed from their schools and half his house, which was rented from the Government, was retrieved.
After arriving in Hong Kong in 1989, Mr Thao said he was questioned by Security Branch officials about matters related to his work. His latest refugee claim says he not only had a well-founded fear of persecution when he left Vietnam in 1989, but his situation was exacerbated by what happened after he left.
A submission to the Refugee Status Review Board in January said the content of the interviews with security officials in Hong Kong was irrelevant.