Anti-corruption and anti-negativity

Mr. Liu Pingruong was proposed to be sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

TH (according to VnExpress) January 8, 2025 15:23

Two former National Assembly deputies Le Thanh Van and Luu Binh Nhuong were assessed by the Procuracy to have profited many times and not represented the people's voice in a fair and objective manner.

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Three prosecutors of Thai Binh Provincial People's Procuracy exercised the right to prosecute in court.

On the afternoon of January 8, after a day of questioning, the People's Procuracy of Thai Binh province announced the proposed sentence for 5 defendants in the violations related to Mr. Luu Binh Nhuong and Le Thanh Van.

Mr. Nhuong was proposed to be sentenced to 3 years - 3 years and 6 months in prison for the crime.Extortionand 10-12 years for the crimeProfituse of power and position while performing official duties;The total sentence is 13-15 years and 6 months.

Mr. Van was recommended 7-9 years in prison for the crime.Taking advantage of position and power to influence others for personal gain.For the same crime, Nguyen Van Vuong, 49 years old, former specialist of the Legal Department of the Office of the President, was proposed to be sentenced to 13-14 years in prison.

Two gangsters Pham Minh Cuong (Cuong "Quat") and Vu Dang Phuong were proposed to be sentenced to 7-8 years in prison and 6-7 years in prison, respectively, for the crime ofExtortion.

The Procuracy assessed that National Assembly Deputies, who should have been exemplary in complying with legal regulations and having a healthy lifestyle, Mr. Van and Mr. Nhuong "did not represent the people's voice in a fair and objective manner", repeatedly called and influenced authorities in a direction that benefited acquaintances, "in order to gain material benefits", although in court, they always affirmed that they did not have this motive, did not demand or demand, "give and take".

In the case of "protecting" gangsters Cuong and Phuong to force businesses to "cut off" sand mining fees, the Procuracy determined that Mr. Nhuong used many methods to "give Cuong mental strength" so that this gangster could force and extort money from businesses.

The amount of money the defendants benefited from in the cases was over 1 billion VND, and the defendants "though knowledgeable about the law" still deliberately broke the law. However, when convicting, the Procuracy said that it had considered mitigating factors, overcoming consequences, and the contributions of Mr. Van and Nhuong during their terms as National Assembly deputies.

Mr. Le Thanh Van was 'shocked' when he was accused of being given 400 square meters of land.

Earlier, late this morning, the People's Court of Thai Binh province questioned the defendants related to the final violations in the case involving two former National Assembly deputies Luu Binh Nhuong and Le Thanh Van and former expert of the Legal Department of the Office of the President Nguyen Van Vuong.

Previously, answering the Trial Council, Mr. Vuong admitted that he had presented the difficulties in the slow-progress project in Ha Long of an acquaintance's company, so that Mr. Van and Nhuong, as National Assembly Deputies, could send a petition to the relevant authorities.

Mr. Vuong took the 3.3 billion VND the company gave him, with the intention of asking for help, but thinking "Mr. Van and Mr. Nhuong are brothers, even if I give them money, they probably won't accept it", Vuong therefore gave each of them a 400-500 m2 piece of land in Dong Anh, Hanoi.

However, he also admitted that this land was "illegally encroached", and that it was impossible to get a Certificate of Land Use Rights, "just making promises like that, it might come true, it might not". Mr. Vuong admitted that he had hidden this from Mr. Van and Mr. Nhuong, and only confessed it in court today.

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Mr. Liu Pingruong (front row) and defendants in court

Responding to the Trial Council immediately afterwards, Mr. Van said he was "shocked and panicked" when he was accused of being given 400 square meters of land in Dong Anh by Vuong to "motivate" him to help businesses in the slow-progress project in Ha Long. This former National Assembly delegate said "he always determined that he would pay for this land, and even asked Mr. Nhuong how much per square meter".

Regarding the opportunity to know Vuong, Mr. Van said that he first met him at Mr. Nhuong's office when he "accidentally came over to drink tea". When asked about the project, Mr. Van said that "with the responsibility of a National Assembly Representative, whoever has a suggestion, I must take responsibility", so Mr. Van asked Vuong to submit a petition so that he could forward it to the competent authority.

"This is a normal activity, in one term I forwarded thousands of applications," but he said he did not know if Quang Ninh province would respond. He only continued to forward three more applications, each time Vuong asked for help.

He said that the 15th National Assembly, although a delegate from Ca Mau, still sent petitions about issues in Quang Ninh, many times, because the law does not limit the number of times and locations that delegates can send petitions.

Mr. Van listed 5 articles of the Constitution, the Law on the Organization of the National Assembly, the Law on the Supervision of the National Assembly... holding 2 law books in his hand and intending to quote them in court to support the above assertion, but the court said "already known, not necessary" and asked him to continue talking about the 400 m2 land in Dong Anh.

The former National Assembly delegate said that about 2 weeks after the meeting in Mr. Nhuong's room, he was invited by Mr. Nhuong to go fishing and have lunch at a lakeside area in Dong Anh.

"Mr. Nhuong took me to the area by a lake and told me that some of his brothers were working on a craft village project here, and Nhuong would also participate. I liked the space near the lake, so he said if there was a spot, he could join in," Mr. Van said. Then Mr. Nhuong said this was Vuong's project, and then Mr. Van found out.

That afternoon, Vuong also came, but Mr. Van said he did not open up about wanting to invest in the project together, but mainly later Mr. Nhuong worked with Vuong.

Responding to the Trial Council earlier, Mr. Nhuong also said, "Knowing Mr. Van, he is not interested in this story. It's just that we are close brothers and want to live close to each other when we are old, talk and socialize. I invited him and he followed."

In order for Vuong to have information to carry out the land extraction procedure, Mr. Nhuong asked for Mr. Van's citizen identification information. Mr. Van said that at that time, he also told his friend to "be careful, or he will use my name, he will put pressure on the side that issues the land use right certificate", so he did not hand over the documents.

After reviewing the land documents, Mr. Van said he had given them to his son to review and evaluate, and his son replied that it was "feasible". Furthermore, Mr. Nhuong and Vuong both said that the project was "in progress", so he was reassured. Van took a photo of his son's ID and sent it to Mr. Nhuong to complete the procedures related to the land. Mr. Van affirmed that he had always determined that he would spend money to buy the land, so when he was accused of being "given" by Vuong, he was very surprised.

Recalling that this morning Vuong admitted to "deceiving" when he gave away an "illegal, unregistered" piece of land, Mr. Van thanked the defendant in court for telling the truth.

Regarding the 1,000 square meters of land in Ha Long that Vuong "promised to give", Mr. Van said he was not interested, so it was not determined whether he was given it or had to pay for it. The trial panel reread the phone messages, when Vuong texted "help me with work in Ha Long, so that Mr. Nhuong and I can have 1,000 square meters near the sea", Mr. Van texted "OK".

Explaining the word "OK" in this message and many other messages in which Vuong promised to give land, Mr. Van stated, "I responded by reflex when I received the message, without paying attention to the content."

According to the prosecution's accusation, there were 5 violations tried in the case, which took place in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Hanoi and Thai Binh, in the 3 years 2020-2023.

Mr. Van and Mr. Nhuong, taking advantage of their status as National Assembly Deputies, have repeatedly intervened to help businesses get projects, get projects back, intervened in a way that benefits acquaintances in civil lawsuits, and protected gangsters for personal gain.

The trial, on its second day, continues with the defense lawyers' arguments.

TH (according to VnExpress)
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Mr. Liu Pingruong was proposed to be sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.