Former Secretary of Bac Ninh Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Nhan Chien was sentenced to more than 4 years in prison for accepting bribes.

The verdict was announced by the People's Court of Bac Ninh province on the afternoon of November 1 after more than 3 days of trial and deliberation.

Same crime of bribery,Former Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Hanh Chung was sentenced to 2 years; former Director of the Bac Ninh Province Medical Construction Project Management Board Tran Van Tuynh was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months.

AIC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan (who is on the run) was sentenced to 13 years in prison for bribery. Combined with the three sentences already passed, Ms. Nhan must serve a total sentence of 30 years in prison.

AIC Deputy General Director Nguyen Hong Son (on the run) was fined 10 million VND for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences.

The verdict determined that former leaders of Bac Ninh province, including Mr. Chien, Mr. Quynh, Mr. Chung and Mr. Tuynh, "took advantage of their positions and powers, agreed to divide and create favorable conditions" for AIC Company and companies belonging to the AIC Company ecosystem of Ms. Nhan and the group of companies of Mr. La Tuan Hung (General Director of Song Hong Company), to collude, win bids, and implement 6 medical equipment procurement packages at 6 district-level general hospitals in Bac Ninh province.

This is an illegal act, causing damage to the state budget of nearly 49 billion VND.

After helping and facilitating the above group of companies to win the bid, the four men received bribes from defendants Nhan and Hung, of which Mr. Chien received 4 billion VND and 10 billion VND as "thanks" from Ms. Nhan.

According to the court, the defendants Nhan and Son were absent despite the authorities’ calls for them to surrender, which meant they had given up their rights. However, the two defendants were still defended by their families, and the lawyers were allowed to debate openly in court, ensuring their legitimate rights, due process, and the law. Therefore, the conviction and sentencing of these two in absentia was correct and not unjust.

The Trial Panel determined that the defendants' actions posed a danger to society, violated the proper functioning of state agencies, caused public outrage, and affected local security and order.

However, some defendants, who are leaders and officials of Bac Ninh province, committed the crime in a state of haste, wanting to quickly have equipment for hospitals so that people could benefit. This is part of the reason leading to the crime.

In essence, this is a simple crime case between the defendants. In which, Mr. Chien took advantage of his authority to decide on the division of bidding packages for businesses and then received the most bribes, so he had the highest role. Defendant Nhan independently committed the act of bribery but committed the crime many times, so he must bear the main responsibility in the case.

Assessing the context, level of crime, and merit, the panel of judges found that some defendants only needed to be sentenced below the lowest penalty level to have sufficient deterrence. Some defendants such as Chien, Quynh, Tuynh, Chung, and Nhuong were exempted from court fees and did not have to be sentenced to additional penalties due to their advanced age, retirement, and poor health.

In civil matters, the defendants must jointly compensate the victims, the Medical Project Management Board and the Bac Ninh Department of Health, 48.7 billion VND. Of which, Ms. Nhan must pay 21.1 billion VND, Hung 22.8 billion VND (already paid); the remaining defendants of the group of criminals violated bidding regulations causing serious consequences.,from 10 to 50 million VND and the court recorded that all had been resolved.

In addition to the bribes and illegal profits that must be returned, the court ordered some defendants to pay additional compensation for the consequences of the case. Specifically, Mr. Chien received 500 million VND, Mr. Quynh received 300 million VND, Mr. Tuynh received 350 million VND, Mr. Chung received 100 million VND, and Nhuong received 250 million VND. The court acknowledged that these people had paid the full amount.

During the two-day trial, the defendants all admitted to the acts as charged, but asked to consider the context of the crime, the local situation at that time, and the pressure on the leaders.

They receive money from businesses but do not negotiate a profit sharing, do not force or set conditions, only give maximum priority to developing and perfecting the hospital system to care for the people.

The group of defendants with lower roles, such as two former AIC employees, said they had just started working, so they did whatever the leaders assigned them and did not benefit from the violations.

In their defense and final statements, the defendants and lawyers mostly did not debate the charges, thanked the Procuracy for proposing a sentence lower than the lowest level of the penalty range, but still asked for "even more lenient punishment".

Mr. Chien apologized to the Party and the people, hoping that his mistakes would be a warning to current leaders. Former Vice Chairman Hanh, who was the director of the provincial Department of Health during the time of the mistakes, cried many times, asking to return soon to finish writing the unfinished medical book.

In response, the Procuracy maintained its stance, affirming that the proposed punishment had been carefully considered. "The sentence for bribery is up to death, and the sentence for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences is up to 20 years, so the sentence we proposed is very lenient," said a representative of the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Procuracy.

According to the prosecution, the sentence took into account the defendants' contributions during their work, to balance "merit and crime".

The case originated when Bac Ninh province renovated and built 6 new district-level general hospitals, with the Project Management Board under the Bac Ninh Provincial Department of Health as the investor.

Some leaders and officials of Bac Ninh province were accused of colluding with businesses to allow Song Hong Group to win 3 bids and receive a total payment of 70 billion VND, of which 22.8 billion VND was an inflated value. AIC won 3 bids and received a payment of 99.8 billion VND, of which 25.8 billion VND was an inflated value.

The damage in the case, 48.7 billion VND, is the amount the provincial budget must pay for the inflated value.

From the agreement before the project, after winning the bid, the two companies AIC and Song Hong began to give money to thank the provincial leaders. Of which, Mr. Chien received 14 billion VND, Mr. Quynh 10.1 billion VND, Mr. Chung 600 million VND, and Mr. Tuynh 3.2 billion VND. All the money was returned by the defendants.