Defendants at the first-instance trial (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Hanoi People’s Court hasreceived appeals of 12 defendants in the case relating to Viet A Company over one month after the first-instance trial.
Specifically, Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of the Viet ACompany, and Nguyen Thanh Long, formerMinister of Health, appealed for reducing their penalties. Vu Dinh Hiep,Deputy General Director of the Viet A Company asked the court to reconsider the charge on him.
The other 10 defendants asked for reduction of their sentences.
Viet A Company also filed an appeal requesting not toconfiscate the money gained illegally fromselling test kits to organisations and individuals that were notprosecuted in the case. It asked the appeal court to lift restriction measures on bank accounts of Viet A and its affiliates that are not related to the case.
In the first-instance trial from January 3-12 with 38 defendants, Viet was sentenced to 29 years in jail for giving bribes and violatingbidding regulations, causing serious consequences. Long was sentenced 18 yearsin prison for taking bribes.
Chu Ngoc Anh, former Minister of Science and Technology,and Pham Cong Tac, former Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, weresentenced to three years in prison for violating regulations on the managementand use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness.
Pham Xuan Thang, former Secretary of the Hai Duongprovincial Party Committee, Pham Manh Cuong, former Director of Hai Duongprovince’s Department of Health, and Nguyen Van Trinh, former assistant to aDeputy Prime Minister were sentenced to five years, four years, and four yearsin prison, respectively, for abusing positions and power while performingofficial duties.
Other defendants in the COVID-19 kit test scandal receivedimprison sentences ranging from 24 months to five years and six months in jail./.
