Hanoi (VNA) – The People's Procuracy on May 16 proposed the court reject appeals for reduced sentences from former Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long and General Director of Viet A Technologies JSC Phan Quoc Viet in the Viet A case.
Long, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison at the first-instance trial in January for accepting bribes to benefit Viet A, had requested a lighter sentence. The People's Procuracy argued that the initial sentence was already lenient, considering the large bribe amount and the severe consequences caused by his actions.
Similarly, the procuracy proposed rejecting Viet's appeal for a reduced sentence denied. Viet was sentenced to 29 years in prison for bribing officials and violating bidding regulations. He offered an additional 200 million VND (8,600 USD) to compensate for the case's consequences, on top of previously returned bribes.
The first-instance trial, held from January 3-12, involved 38 defendants. It resulted in sentences ranging from 24 months to 29 years in prison for various offenses related to the COVID-19 test kit scandal. Other high-ranking officials convicted included former Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh and former Deputy Minister Pham Cong Tac, who received three-year sentences for mismanagement of State assets.
The High People's Court in Hanoi started hearing the appeals of former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and 10 other defendants in the COVID-19 test kit fraud that occurred at Viet A Technologies JSC, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science and Technology and related agencies and organisations, on May 15./.
