Ex-minister of industry and trade has jail term reduced by one year
Hanoi (VNA) – The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi decided to
reduce the prision sentence for ex-minister of industry and trade Vu Huy
Hoang by one year to 10 years on charges of “violating regulations on the
management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”, during
an appeal trial on January 24.
His violations are related to a case that occurred at the
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Saigon Beer - Alcohol
- Beverage JSC (Sabeco) and Ho Chi Minh City.
Former Director of the MoIT’s Department of Light
Industry Phan Chi Dung also had his sentence reduced by one year to eight years.
Former Deputy Director of the HCM City's
Department of Planning and Investment Lam Nguyen Khoi was given a jail term of four
years, down six months, and former head of the Department of
Planning and Investment's Infrastructure Development Division Le Quang Minh
also had his term shortened by six months to three years.
The board of juries also asked for allocating the land lot
No.2-4-6 on Hai Ba Trung street, District 1 to the municipal People’s Committee
for management in line with the law.
According to the indictment from the Supreme
People’s Procuracy, Sabeco, which is under the MoIT’s management, was given
more than 6,000 sq.m of land at No. 2-4-6 on Hai Ba Trung street in downtown
HCM City for production and business purposes.
However, Hoang, Dung, and former Deputy Minister
of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa, who has fled, directed subordinates at
the ministry and Sabeco to carry out procedures for using land use rights and
Sabeco's money as capital contributions to set up Sabeco Pearl, a joint venture
between Sabeco and a number of private enterprises, to implement a project
building a hotel, a trade and convention centre, and office space for lease on
the land plot.
After Sabeco completed legal procedures
for the joint venture’s investment and proposed the HCM City People’s Committee
approve the addition of officetel and housing functions to this project, the
MoIT ordered the company to divest its entire stake in this project.
The move was illegal and resulted in the loss of
over 2.7 trillion VND (117.3 million USD) to the State./.