Yen Bai official’s suspected land mismanagement inspected

Hanoi (VNA) - The Government Inspectorate on June 27 sent a team to Yen Bai province to examine suspected land mismanagement and misuse by Director of the provincial Department of Environment and Natural Resources Pham Sy Quy.

Head of Government Inspectorate’s Anti-corruption Bureau Pham Trong Dat said Yen Bai province’s Inspectorate on June 8 issued a decision to inspect construction, land management and land use of the household in Minh Tan commune, Yen Bai city, with the head of the household identified as Hoang Thi Hue - Quy’s wife.

The move was made after local media reported about how houses were allegedly constructed for Quy’s family in a short time on 13,000sq.m. of forest land.

Dat said the provincial People’s Committee later asked for an examination to be carried out by the Government Inspectorate instead of a local agency to ensure objectivity and avoid unexpected interference, as Pham Sy Quy is the younger brother of Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Pham Thi Thanh Tra.

Dat said the inspection would focus on asset declaration and land use in connection with the land on which Quy’s premises were built.

The premises include a hillside villa, stilt houses, a pond and a garden covering more than 1.3 hectares of land. The land is believed to have already been designated as forest and agriculture land, which means residential use is restricted.

Quy said, as cited in the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper, that the area was repurposed in 2015 and that he did not break any rule.

Quy is among the officials named in a nepotism inspection report by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February.

He was promoted to his current post last year by his sister.

The ministry concluded that the appointment did not follow regulations.-VNA