Former investigator Hoang Van Hung pleads guilty, expresses remorse

At the appeal hearing of the “rescue flight” case on December 25, the defendants, lawyers, and participants in the proceedings were all subjected to strict security checks. Reporters worked in the press room, following the trial on television screens.

At the appeal hearing, defendant Hoang Van Hung stated that during his detention, he suffered from a mental disorder. The defendant respected all court decisions and left the defense to his lawyers. The former investigator asked the Trial Panel to allow the defendant to be absent throughout the appeal hearing.

The panel of judges said it would consider defendant Hoang Van Hung's request to be tried in absentia.

Responding to the interrogation of the representative of the Procuracy, defendant Hoang Van Hung stated: The defendant is very remorseful and regretful for the wrongdoings that have occurred. The defendant respects all court decisions and has influenced his family to remedy the consequences of the case.

Before the appeal hearing, defendant Hoang Van Hung submitted a request to be tried in absentia, but on the morning of December 25, the defendant was still present in court.

Defendant Pham Ba Son (employee of Thai Hoa Construction Joint Stock Company) was summoned to the court even though he did not file an appeal. However, Mr. Son requested to be tried in absentia due to illness.

The representative of the Procuracy said that Mr. Son's absence did not affect the trial process because he had previously given many statements related to the case.

Nearly 30 lawyers registered to defend the defendants as well as those with related rights and obligations.

According to the first instance verdict, in addition to defendants Pham Trung Kien (former secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health) and Vu Anh Tuan (former officer of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security) who demanded and quoted prices, defendants from the Government Office and other agencies, although they did not agree or request a certain amount of money, all met and supported businesses before or after the flights. Afterwards, the businesses all gave money as thanks.

The amount of the thank you money is based on the number of flights, the number of passengers on the flights, often at large, very large, and especially large amounts. The defendants' receipt of money happened regularly, continuously, and far exceeded the civil servant's salary.

At the investigation agency and in court, the defendants, who are representatives of the businesses, all admitted that if they did not pay, their businesses would not be given favorable conditions to conduct flights. The payment must be made before or after the flights. The payment is a share of the business's profits to continue being granted flight licenses.

The first-instance court also determined that after receiving the money, the defendants in the "Receiving bribes" group appropriated and used it for personal purposes. The lawyers' statement that it was a thank-you money, not a bribe, is incorrect.

Defendant Pham Trung Kien (former secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health) appealed, asking for a reduction in criminal liability. The first instance verdict determined that Mr. Kien was the person who received the most bribes, with the amount reaching more than 42 billion VND.

At the first instance trial, the representative of the Procuracy said that the defendant Kien had many mitigating circumstances, but the defendant had committed the crime "blatantly", accepted bribes many times, with the largest amount of money, so the proposal was made to sentence the defendant to death.

In the sentencing, the first instance panel of judges stated that the death penalty proposed by the representative of the Procuracy for the defendant was commensurate with the crime.

But at the investigation agency and in court, the defendant confessed honestly, repented, and influenced his family to pay more than 42 billion VND in compensation. The defendant had many achievements and his family had contributed to the revolution.

Therefore, the first-instance court found that it was not necessary to impose the penalty of excluding the defendant from society, which would have a general educational effect. This is to encourage those who commit corruption crimes to actively report and pay compensation in order to receive leniency. The Hanoi People's Court sentenced defendant Pham Trung Kien to life in prison.