Former Director of Thu Duc Hospital asks for reduced sentence to continue contributing to the medical industry

On the evening of November 30th, after the conclusion of the arguments, former Director of Thu Duc City Hospital Nguyen Minh Quan and his eight accomplices delivered their final statements before the panel of judges adjourned to deliberate.

Defendant Quân requested the court to show leniency and reduce his sentence. He stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he single-handedly managed seven field hospitals.

" The defendant has an elderly mother who is in poor health. His parents supported his education so he could become a doctor. I hope the court will consider mitigating the sentence so that I can return to contribute to the medical field and teaching as soon as possible," defendant Quan said, offering his apologies to the people of Thu Duc City and the staff of Thu Duc City Hospital.

Defendant Nguyen Minh Quan delivered his final statement.

Defendant Nguyen Tran Ngoc Diem (wife of defendant Quan) requested the court to consider granting her leniency. She also asked the panel of judges to facilitate the sale of assets to mitigate the consequences of the case, thereby reducing her husband's culpability to some extent.

Defendant Nguyen Van Loi (Director of Nguyen Tam Trading, Service and Production Company Limited) said: " Since being prosecuted until today, I have realized my mistakes and hope the Court will show leniency to me and the other defendants so that we can have the opportunity to return to our families and become useful members of society."

The remaining defendants in the case expressed remorse and asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce their sentences.

Tomorrow morning (December 1st), the panel of judges will deliver their verdict on the case.

Previously, the Procuratorate proposed that the court sentence defendant Nguyen Minh Quan to 16-17 years in prison for embezzlement and 5-6 years in prison for money laundering, for a combined sentence of 21-23 years.

Nguyen Van Loi was sentenced to 13-14 years in prison for embezzlement and 3-4 years in prison for money laundering, for a combined sentence of 16-18 years. Defendant Nguyen Tran Ngoc Diem (wife of defendant Quan) was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months to 3 years and 6 months in prison for money laundering.

Regarding the group of crimes related to violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy proposed the following sentences: For the two former Deputy Directors of Thu Duc City Hospital, defendant Nguyen Thi Ngoc was recommended a sentence of 2 years and 6 months to 3 years and 6 months in prison; Nguyen Lan Anh was recommended a sentence of 3 years and 6 months to 4 years and 6 months in prison.

Defendant Ngo Truong Ngoc Bich, former Head of the Medical Equipment and Supplies Department (Thu Duc City Hospital), was recommended a sentence of 3 years and 6 months to 4 years and 6 months in prison. Defendant Dang Thi Hien, former Chief Accountant (Thu Duc City Hospital), was recommended a sentence of 3 to 4 years in prison.

Defendant Nguyen Huy Viet, an employee of the Medical Equipment and Supplies Department (Thu Duc City Hospital), was recommended a sentence of 2 years and 6 months to 3 years and 6 months in prison. Defendant Tran Hau Nghia, Director of Hai Dang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., was recommended a sentence of 2 years and 6 months to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

Regarding civil liability, although Nguyen Van Loi transferred more than 103.6 billion VND to Nguyen Minh Quan, through comparison and inspection of data and books, Loi's 4 companies received 102.52 billion VND through winning the auction of 27 bid packages at Thu Duc City Hospital.

According to the indictment, in order to interfere and seize control of the entire bidding process, Nguyen Minh Quan (at that time the Director of Thu Duc Hospital) instructed Nguyen Van Loi (an employee of Quan and his wife) to establish shell companies, named Nguyen Tam, Trung Dung, Thanh Vuong SG, and Ngoc Dao.

Lợi instructed his staff to create fictitious purchase and sale contracts, circulating them between these companies to inflate the prices of machinery and equipment.

Subsequently, Loi used three of the four companies in the aforementioned group to submit bids with inflated prices for machinery and equipment. When preparing the bidding documents, Loi intentionally created a bid with better criteria than the others, with the aim of having his company selected as the winning bidder.

The indictment also stated that the defendant Quan had abused his position as director and head of the hospital to direct and pressure subordinates; and had engaged in "collusion and fraud in bidding, failing to ensure transparency in bidding activities."

From 2016 to 2020, the group of four companies managed by Loi participated in and won 27 out of 28 bidding packages at Thu Duc Hospital, totaling over 345.2 billion VND. After deducting the purchase price and other expenses, the amount Quan embezzled was 103.6 billion VND.

To conceal the source of the embezzled funds, Quân instructed Lợi to withdraw cash and transfer it to Quân's account and that of the defendant Nguyễn Trần Ngọc Diễm (Quân's wife), or to transfer it directly to the company's account.

The indictment also stated that defendant Nguyen Tran Ngoc Diem had requested Loi to transfer over 67.9 billion VND to her. Of that amount, Quan and Diem used 51.7 billion VND to purchase real estate, luxury cars, etc.

Hoang Tho

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