'The defendant felt remorse and remorse throughout 581 days in detention'

On the evening of January 9th, the panel of judges allocated time for the defendants in the Viet A case to make their final statements.

Standing before the podium to deliver his final statement, former Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh expressed his remorse and regret: "The defendant is deeply saddened and has nothing to justify his wrongdoing. The defendant has paid the price in remorse, pain, and guilt throughout the 581 days of his detention and will have to pay the price in the days to come. I hope the Panel of Judges will show leniency to my accomplices, especially Pham Cong Tac and Trinh Thanh Hung."

Mr. Chu Ngoc Anh also offered his apologies to the Party, the State, and the generations of leaders and officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology .

"The defendant is truly remorseful for allowing such serious wrongdoing to occur, and there is nothing to justify it," Mr. Chu Ngoc Anh stated.

Given the opportunity to speak his final words, defendant Phan Quoc Viet (General Director of Viet A Company) continued to plead guilty. He asked the court to "create a mechanism" to hold him entirely responsible instead of the company's employees, arguing that they were merely salaried workers who did not benefit from the company's operations.

In addition, Viet also asked the panel of judges to consider the special context of the case, which had been mentioned many times by the other defendants.

In his final words, the General Director of Viet A comforted the remaining 37 defendants. "No one wants to go to prison, but if you do have to, turn this unwanted danger into an opportunity that no one else has, so that after rehabilitation you can still be a person who contributes to society," Phan Quoc Viet said.

The remaining defendants, in their final statements, all expressed remorse and regret, hoping the court would impose a lighter sentence so they could return to their families soon.

In the indictment, the Hanoi People's Procuracy proposed that the court sentence defendant Chu Ngoc Anh to 3-4 years in prison for violating regulations on the management and use of state assets causing losses and waste. Phan Quoc Viet was proposed to receive 15-16 years in prison for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, and 15-16 years in prison for bribery. The total proposed sentence for Phan Quoc Viet is 30 years in prison.

The court will pronounce the sentences on the defendants at 2:30 PM on January 12th.

Minh Tue

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