Prosecution of 5 officials of the Food Safety Department: Once concluded 'at risk of creating a mechanism of asking for and giving'

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, former Director of the Department of Food Safety

On May 12, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency (C03) issued a decision to prosecute and search five officers of the Food Safety Department for "receiving bribes".

The Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency (C03) has clarified the violations of the Food Safety Department's officers in the appraisal, post-inspection, issuance of 4 certificates of qualified facilities and certificates of meeting good manufacturing practices (GMP) requirements for the MediPhar factory and the MEDIUSA factory, and issuance of 20 certificates of product registration acceptance for the group of 9 companies of Nguyen Nang Manh.

Based on collected documents and evidence, the Department of Police Investigation of Crimes of Corruption, Economy, and Smuggling has prosecuted and issued a search warrant for Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, former Director of the Department of Food Safety;

Dinh Quang Minh, director of the Food Safety Application and Training Center; Nguyen Thi Minh Hai, deputy director of the Food Safety Application and Training Center, Le Thi Hien, a specialist at the center, and Cao Van Trung, deputy head of the Poisoning Monitoring Department, for the crime of "receiving bribes".

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Associate Professor, Doctor of Food Technology, former Director of the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health.

Before 2014, he held the position of Deputy Director of the Department of Food Safety. From 2014 to 2024, he held the position of Director of the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health.

Once concluded to have the risk of 'creating a mechanism of asking for and giving'

Previously, in December 2024, the Government Inspectorate issued a conclusion on the inspection of the responsibility for performing public duties of cadres, civil servants, and public employees in handling administrative procedures and providing public services to people and businesses at the Ministry of Health, including the Department of Food Safety.

As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , the Government Inspectorate pointed out that the delay in handling administrative procedures at the Ministry of Health not only causes inconvenience to people and businesses but also leads to a shortage of medicine and equipment.

This also risks "creating a mechanism of asking for and giving", lacking transparency and "causing public outrage".

Through inspection of 20 administrative procedures and 55 administrative procedure settlement records at 5 units under the Ministry of Health including the Department of Drug Administration, Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Department of Food Safety, Department of Traditional Medicine Management, Department of Infrastructure and Medical Equipment, the Government Inspectorate discovered many shortcomings and violations.

According to the Inspectorate, the Ministry of Health reported that the results of handling administrative procedure records did not reflect the actual situation, the data was inaccurate, "there were a large number of overdue records but the handling was very slow".

The Ministry of Justice periodically reported to the Government that the rate of overdue records in the 2021-2023 period was 4.97%. However, the actual rate of overdue records reviewed was 69.8% (an increase of more than 64% compared to the number reported by the Ministry), the conclusion stated.

Along with limitations in records management, failure to fully comply with principles in handling records, according to the inspection conclusion, there is a "risk of creating a mechanism of asking for and giving", causing inconvenience, not ensuring objectivity, fairness, and transparency in handling administrative procedures, causing frustration for people, businesses and public opinion.

WILLOW

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khoi-to-5-can-bo-cuc-an-toan-thuc-pham-tung-bi-ket-luan-co-nguy-co-tao-co-che-xin-cho-20250513165338508.htm