Former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health conceals crimes?

On the afternoon of July 14th, the Hanoi People's Court continued the trial of the "rescue flight" case. The representative of the prosecution questioned defendant Pham Trung Kien, former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health , regarding the bribes he returned to businesses.

Defendant Pham Trung Kien, former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health.

He received bribes 253 times, but returned them when he saw the case was being prosecuted.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate's indictment, Mr. Kien was the biggest recipient of bribes in the case, receiving 253 bribes totaling 42.6 billion VND. After the "rescue flight" case was initiated, Mr. Kien returned more than 12 billion VND to representatives of the businesses involved.

Defendant Pham Trung Kien: I once wanted to die when I knew I could be sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

One of the people to whom the former secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health returned the money was Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, Director of ATA Company.

Testifying in court, Ms. Vy stated that on January 27, 2022, Mr. Kien transferred 2.4 billion VND to her, with the transfer description stating "debt repayment". Before making the payment, Mr. Kien did not discuss it further; upon receiving the money, Ms. Vy asked Mr. Kien about it and was told, "I'm returning it to you".

The director of ATA Company confirmed that this money was essentially a bribe given to Mr. Kien previously, and that there was no actual loan or borrowing between the two parties.

The prosecutor asked why the phrase "repaying the debt" was included in the document. Ms. Vy stated that she and Mr. Kien had previously signed a promissory note acknowledging a debt.

"Why is this document here?" the prosecutor inquired. Ms. Vy explained that when Mr. Kien saw developments in the legal proceedings against some of the defendants in the case, he asked her to sign a promissory note, and she agreed. After signing it, she didn't think Mr. Kien would return the money.

"How did the defendant understand the promissory note, when the two of you had absolutely no borrowing or lending relationship? What was the purpose of writing this note, and why did you have to do it?" the prosecutor pressed. Ms. Vy explained that because Mr. Kien was an acquaintance who had helped her a lot, she agreed to comply when asked.

The prosecutor's representative in the "rescue flight" case.

The director of the 'rescue flight' operation accuses Pham Trung Kien of extorting bribes.

Did the defendant conceal his criminal act?

The prosecutor then questioned the defendant Pham Trung Kien. Before asking the question, the prosecutor cited the bank account statement of the former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health, showing that most of the money the defendant returned to businesses was recorded as "debt repayment".

"Does the defendant owe any money to these people?" the prosecutor questioned. While not directly answering the question, Mr. Kien admitted that the money he received from the businesses constituted bribery, as alleged in the indictment.

According to the former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health, at the time of returning the money, the defendant had many illnesses and suffered from psychological trauma, so he wrote inappropriate details in the transfer. "In reality, the defendant was aware of his wrongdoing and wanted to return the money to the business, not intentionally doing anything wrong," Mr. Kien explained.

"The defendant proactively asked defendant Tuong Vy to write a promissory note, treating it as a civil transaction rather than a bribery act, thus concealing his criminal behavior?" the prosecutor continued to question. The former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health reiterated that he was infected with Covid-19 at the time and therefore unaware of the consequences, and offered his apologies to the court. "Afterward, the defendant realized his actions and made a sincere confession, rectifying the consequences," Mr. Kien testified.

Previously, during the trial of the "rescue flight" case, defendant Pham Trung Kien also repeatedly answered questions about how he used the 42.6 billion VND in bribe money he received.

The defendant stated that, in addition to returning over 12 billion VND to businesses, he used approximately 2 billion VND for personal expenses, lent about 10 billion VND to a relative, and used the remaining 20 billion VND for house renovations and land purchases in Mui Ne (Binh Thuan), Ba Vi and Hoai Duc districts ( Hanoi ).

The director of the 'rescue flight' operation stated three reasons for paying Mr. Pham Trung Kien.

I once wanted to die to escape the pressure.

Another notable development is that the defense lawyer for defendant Pham Trung Kien mentioned his client's medical records, which included a diagnosis of asymptomatic multiple disorder suicidal behavior following COVID-19 infection.

Responding to this, the defendant Kien recounted that he had suffered a severe case of Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized at Hanoi Medical University Hospital for emergency treatment and a period of time. After being discharged from the hospital, coupled with the information that the investigative agency had initiated a case to investigate irregularities in the flights bringing citizens back home, the defendant was under immense psychological pressure.

After being discharged from the hospital, Mr. Kien frequently had to work with the investigating authorities; he then independently researched legal regulations related to bribery crimes and found that the penalties were very severe, ranging from 20 years, life imprisonment to the death penalty.

"The defendant was obsessed with the death penalty, so he was very frightened and showed symptoms of wanting to die to escape the pressure. Therefore, the defendant had to receive psychiatric treatment at Bach Mai Hospital for a period of time," the former secretary to the Deputy Minister of Health said.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-chuyen-bay-giai-cuu-cuu-thu-ky-thu-truong-bo-y-te-che-giau-toi-185230714220116013.htm