Former Deputy Director of Thai Nguyen Department of Foreign Affairs proposed 12-14 years in prison

On the afternoon of December 24, at the second phase of the trial of the “Rescue Flight” case, the representative of the Procuracy holding the right to prosecute at the trial presented the indictment and proposed sentences for 17 defendants in this case.

The representative of the Procuracy proposed that defendant Tran Tung (born in 1978, former Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Thai Nguyen province) be sentenced to 7-8 years in prison for "accepting bribes" and 5-6 years in prison for "abusing position and power while performing official duties".

The total proposed sentence for defendant Tran Tung is 12-14 years in prison.

Five defendants, including Tran Thi Quyen (born in 1986, Director of Sen Vang Dat Viet Company) were proposed to be sentenced to 2-3 years in prison; Le Thi Phuong (born in 1969, former specialist of the Department of Science, Education, Culture and Society, Office of the People's Committee of Hai Duong province) to 24-30 months in prison; Nguyen Van Van (born in 1965, former Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Quang Nam province) and Le Ngoc Tuong (born in 1979, former Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province) were both proposed to be sentenced to 18-24 months in prison; Nguyen Manh Truong (born in 1980, former specialist of the Department of Air Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Ministry of Transport) was proposed to be sentenced to 18-24 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for the same crime of "receiving bribes".

The defendants: Vu Hong Quang (born in 1977, former Deputy Head of the Department of Aviation Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Ministry of Transport) from 3-4 years in prison (combined with the 4-year prison sentence of the previous sentence announced in July 2023 by the People's Court of Hanoi City); Tran Thanh Nha (born in 1991, residing in Ward 3, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) and Dang Nhat Duc (born in 1975, Director of Top Agent Japan Limited Liability Company) were both sentenced to 3-4 years in prison.

The defendants: Vu Hoang Dung (born in 1987, residing in Xuan La ward, Tay Ho district, Hanoi), Nguyen Manh Cuong (born in 1977, Head of E-commerce Department of Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company), Bui Dang Khoa (born in 1984, Director of World Travel One Member Limited Liability Company), Truong Thi My Dung (born in 1972, Director of Anh Sao Thien Tourism Service Trading One Member Limited Liability Company), Pham Quoc Thang (born in 1977, Director of PNR Limited Liability Company) were all sentenced to 2-3 years in prison.

The defendants: Tran Thi Ngan (born in 1984, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Ana Travel Trading and Service Company Limited) was sentenced to 18-24 months in prison but given a suspended sentence; Tran Minh Phung (born in 1970, Director of Gia Huy Construction and Tourism Trading Service Company Limited) was proposed to be sentenced to 12-18 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for the same crime of “giving bribes”. Defendant Nguyen Xuan Thong (born in 1975, former police officer) was proposed to be sentenced to 12-18 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for the crime of “concealing a criminal”.

The indictment stated that organizing flights to bring citizens home during the Covid-19 pandemic is a humanitarian policy, demonstrating the concern of the Party and Government of Vietnam in citizen protection work, with the highest goal of protecting the safety of people's lives, health and property.

This correct and timely policy has received high appreciation from the international community and support from compatriots at home and abroad, marking Vietnam's diplomatic mark in the international arena, demonstrating the humanity of the Party and State of Vietnam.

However, taking advantage of this humane and good policy, some individuals with authority in ministries and branches have caused difficulties, harassment, and made it difficult for businesses to organize flights, creating a mechanism to ask for permission and force businesses to pay, "grease the wheels", and give bribes... seriously affecting the reputation of state agencies, destroying the purpose and good nature of the correct policy of the Party and State.

These criminals were severely punished in phase 1 of the case.

In addition, there are still other individuals involved in the case who have not been prosecuted in phase 1 because the investigation period has expired; the prosecution agencies have promptly separated them for prosecution in phase 2.

Therefore, bringing the case to trial demonstrates the spirit of thoroughly and thoroughly handling criminal acts. The Procuracy determined that this was a corruption case of a particularly serious and complicated nature, taking place during the Covid-19 outbreak, and receiving special attention from public opinion.

The defendants' actions have violated the proper functioning of state agencies, changed the humanity in the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's policies on the protection of Vietnamese citizens abroad in general and in the special circumstances of people trapped in the Covid-19 pandemic, needing the support of authorities in particular; concealed criminal acts, hindered the investigation process; and lost people's trust in the leadership of the Party, state management agencies, and the Government's administration.

Therefore, it is necessary to prosecute and try strictly before the law.

The prosecutor emphasized that among the 17 defendants, defendant Tran Tung took advantage of his assigned position and authority to be the focal point for synthesizing, advising, and proposing to the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province to allow citizens returning from Japan to be quarantined in Thai Nguyen province.

With the help of defendant Tran Thi Quyen through signing a contract for a full package of medical quarantine services for citizens entering from Japan to be quarantined in Thai Nguyen province, Tran Tung received bribes 3 times with a total amount of more than 4.4 billion VND.

In addition, defendant Tran Tung was also the person who directly contacted Nguyen Thi Huong Lan (former Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Luu Tuan Dung (former employee of the Consular Department) to discuss support for granting flight licenses to En Viet Company.

Through the above-mentioned illegal acts, Tran Tung has personally benefited more than 3.2 billion VND. The amount of money that Tran Tung benefits from is the amount of money that others have lost.

Therefore, there is sufficient basis to conclude that Tran Tung's behavior constitutes the crime of "abusing position and power while performing official duties".

After the representative of the Procuracy presented the indictment and proposed sentence, the defense attorneys and the defendants participated in the debate and responded to the prosecution's accusations.