HCM City (VNA) - The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on July 18 commenced the first-instance trial of a case involving 254 defendants related to the Vietnam Register (VR), its local registration centres and sub-departments.
The defendants face a multitude of charges, including giving bribes and receiving bribes, bribe brokerage, forgery at work, producing and trading illegal software, unauthorised access to computer networks, telecoms networks or electronic devices of others, falsification of seals and documents of agencies and organisations, using fake documents, fraud, embezzlement and abuse of power. The total value of bribes exceeds 40 billion VND (1.66 million USD).
Former VR Director Tran Ky Hinh, who served from January 2014 to July 2021, is charged with "accepting bribes" and "abusing position, power while performing official duties".
His successor Dang Viet Ha, who held the position from August 2021 to September 2022, is also accused of "accepting bribes," along with 132 other accomplices.
According to the indictment by the municipal People's Procuracy, despite being responsible for state management in vehicle inspection concerning quality, technical safety, labour safety, and environmental protection, the leaders of the VR and its centres jointly agreed and directed inspectors to accept money from vehicle owners and intermediaries to overlook violations. By turning a blind eye to these wrongdoings, Hinh received bribes totalling over 7.1 billion VND from subordinates. After Hinh retired, his successor Ha also amassed over 8.5 billion VND in bribes within a shorter period of just over a year in office.
The trial is scheduled to last three months./.
