On February 26, the Hanoi High Court of Appeal opened a hearing to consider the appeals of the defendants in the case of violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences, which occurred at the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital of Quang Ninh province (including the biological brother of Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, Chairman of AIC International Progress Joint Stock Company).
Defendant Nguyen Anh Dung requested the appellate court to consider additional circumstances, his role, family situation, and personal background to mitigate his sentence, allowing him to return to his family and society sooner.
Defendants Ta Hai Anh and Cao Viet Bach both requested to be considered in the same way as defendant Nguyen Anh Dung.
Defendant Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong claimed she did not commit the crimes as charged in the first-instance trial and appealed, asserting her innocence. However, at the trial, she somewhat changed her appeal, requesting the appellate court to reconsider her actions and base its verdict on relevant legal provisions. She stated she would comply with the decision.
At the conclusion of the appeal trial, the panel of judges decided to reduce the sentence for defendant Nguyen Anh Dung from 36 months to 20 months imprisonment for the crime of "Violating regulations on bidding causing serious consequences".
Defendant Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong (former Head of the Financial Secretariat Department of AIC Company) had her sentence reduced from 6 years to 4 years; Ta Hai Anh (former Head of the Labor Export Department of AIC Company) had his sentence reduced from 18 months to 12 months; and Cao Viet Bach (former General Director of BVA Company) also had his sentence reduced from 18 months to 12 months, all for the crime of "Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences".
As for the other 12 defendants in the case, since there were no appeals, no objections, and the sentences applied at the first instance were correct in terms of identifying the right people, the right crimes, and the applicable laws, and were also consistent with the nature and severity of the crimes committed, the Appellate Panel of the High People's Court did not consider their cases.
Defendant Nguyen Anh Dung in court.
Previously, at the first-instance trial on the afternoon of October 26, the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Court decided to impose different sentences on 16 defendants in the case of "Violation of regulations on bidding, occurring at Tien Bo Quoc Te Joint Stock Company and Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital," causing damage of more than 50.6 billion VND.
Specifically, AIC Company Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences." This is the third case in which defendant Nhan has received a sentence, all related to bidding irregularities. The sentence in the bidding irregularities case at Dong Nai General Hospital has already taken legal effect.
The defendants who actively assisted Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan were Nguyen Hong Son (former Deputy General Director of AIC Company, currently at large), sentenced to 7 years in prison; Truong Thi Xuan Loan (former Head of Project Management Board 3 of AIC Company, currently at large), sentenced to 5 years in prison; Nguyen Thi Tich (former Head of Legal Documents Department of AIC Company, also General Director of Mopha Company, currently at large), sentenced to 3 years in prison; and Do Van Son (former Chief Accountant of AIC Company), sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Other defendants in the group who assisted defendant Nhan at AIC Company and related entities were also sentenced to appropriate penalties.
For the group of defendants from state agencies, and also for the crime of "Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences," Hoang Dinh Son (former Deputy Head of the Project Management Board of the Quang Ninh Department of Health) was sentenced to 36 months in prison; Nguyen Quy Thinh (former Head of the Administrative and General Affairs Department of the Project Management Board) was sentenced to 24 months in prison; and Pham Ngoc Dung (former specialist in the Planning and Finance Department of the Quang Ninh Department of Health) also received a 24-month prison sentence.
Regarding the charge of "Negligence causing serious consequences," Luong Van Tam (former Director of the Project Management Board, Quang Ninh Department of Health) was sentenced to 30 months in prison; Le Thi Phu (former Deputy Head of the Price Management Department, Quang Ninh Department of Finance) was also sentenced to 30 months in prison but given a suspended sentence.
The Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital Construction Investment Project was approved by the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee in 2009 with a total capital of VND 135.645 billion. In 2012, the Provincial People's Committee approved the Investment Project for the procurement of equipment for this hospital, totaling over VND 238 billion. The project consists of two phases and is divided into six direct procurement packages.
Defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan directly instructed her subordinates to collude with individuals at the Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Medical Facilities (under the Department of Health) and the Department of Finance of Quang Ninh province to organize bidding rigging to win all six of the aforementioned contracts.
The prosecuting authorities determined that the value of equipment in the six bidding packages at the time of bidding differed from the finalized value (over 237.3 billion VND), causing a loss of over 50.6 billion VND to the State.
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