Female director appeals for justice in case of illegal mining of millions of tons of coal

On October 19 and 20, after a 5-day hiatus, the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Court reopened the trial of 33 defendants in the case of illegal coal mining with extremely large quantities, which occurred at the Minh Tien coal mine (Thai Nguyen). The questioning and debate continued to focus on the fact that some defendants claimed innocence.

Defendant Chau Thi My Linh, Director of Yen Phuoc Company, cried out in court.

The prosecutor charged, the lawyer said he was wronged.

The representative of the prosecutor's office confirmed that in 2014, Yen Phuoc Company was granted an investment certificate and a mineral exploitation license by the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province. In March 2019, Yen Phuoc Company was "transferred" to Dong Bac Hai Duong Company.

The license granted by the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee to Yen Phuoc Company shows that the mining reserves are more than 136,000 tons, with a capacity of 8,500 tons/year. However, the two companies have agreed to exploit with a minimum capacity of up to 400,000 tons/year, more than 47 times the licensed capacity.

From March 2019 to August 2021, Dong Bac Hai Duong Company exploited about 2.7 million tons of coal and more than 400,000 m3 ^of accompanying minerals. Through that, defendant Chau Thi My Linh earned more than 151 billion VND, Dong Bac Hai Duong Company earned more than 213 billion VND.

With the above violations, the representative of the prosecutor's office proposed to sentence defendant Linh to 21-23 years in prison for two crimes of violating regulations on resource exploitation and illegal trading and use of explosives. The twin brothers, who were once "mutant orchid tycoons", Bui Huu Giang and Bui Huu Thanh (members contributing capital to Dong Bac Hai Duong Company) were proposed to be sentenced to 4-6 years in prison for two crimes of violating regulations on resource exploitation and illegal trading of invoices.

Opposing the prosecutor's opinion, the defense attorney for defendant Chau Thi My Linh said that her client and many employees of Yen Phuoc Company were wrongly accused.

The lawyer cited Decree No. 33/2017, which states that for the act of exploiting beyond the permitted capacity, the enterprise will only be fined. Therefore, in the case that Yen Phuoc Company is found to have exploited beyond its capacity, this act will only be handled administratively and cannot be criminalized.

And if the individual is determined to have committed a crime (defendant Linh and his employees), then by law, the prosecution agency can only freeze that individual's assets and capital contributions, but not ban the operations and revoke the licenses of all companies in which the defendant contributed shares.

Minh Tien coal mine of Yen Phuoc Company in Thai Nguyen

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According to the lawyer, Vietnam's standards define four types of coal, including lump coal, fine coal, selected peat and ungraded coal. However, at the five gathering sites related to Yen Phuoc Company, the appraisal conclusions all determined that the coal type was below the quality level of ungraded coal. Below the quality level of ungraded coal (the lowest type in the standards), it cannot be called coal, the appraiser arbitrarily "created" a new type of coal that is not in the standards.

"Minh Tien mine was licensed for 136,000 tons, but my client was accused of exploiting 2.7 million tons more than the reserve, 20 times more. I request the prosecutor to prove whether 2.7 million tons of coal are underground or not. You must prove this. If you can prove it, Ms. Linh will plead guilty," said the lawyer.

The case is complicated, the court's deliberations are prolonged.

Responding to the defense attorney, the prosecutor's representative maintained the same position on the charges. The prosecutor affirmed that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had assigned knowledgeable and experienced members to participate in the appraisal; they were legally responsible for their professional obligations and assessments. In court, the appraisers clearly explained the appraisal methods and results.

"The expert conclusion ensures scientific validity, and there is a basis to conclude that the 3 million tons are all coal. As for calling it coal, slag or ash, it is just a way of calling it," the representative of the prosecutor's office analyzed and said that the defense lawyer must have a basis to exonerate his client.

Defendants in case accused of illegally mining millions of tons of coal

Regarding the idea of criminalizing the case, the representative of the prosecutor's office said that the lawyers "forgot" that when considering the act of exploiting beyond the permitted level, if the value is 500 million VND or more, it must be transferred to a criminal case, and if the value is less than 500 million VND, then it will be subject to an administrative penalty.

During the investigation, the prosecution agency compiled a list of each coal ticket, weighing ticket, daily coal quantity, truck number, clearly stating that it was coal. "These are documents that the defendants created themselves during their crime, the investigation agency could not have created, fabricated, or told the defendants or forced them to reveal these figures," the prosecutor argued.

According to the representative of the prosecutor's office, mineral resources are public property, owned by the entire people, and are represented and managed by the State. Granting exploitation rights to Yen Phuoc Company does not mean that the enterprise can "do whatever it wants", but must comply with the license.

The license granted to Yen Phuoc Company clearly stated that the processed products would be used as raw materials for the construction materials and fuel industries in the province and domestically. However, the company exclusively sold to Dong Bac Hai Duong Company, which was against the regulations.

Therefore, the prosecutor rejected the lawyer's point of view that the enterprise had paid taxes and fees, so the assets belonged to the enterprise and how to handle them was their right.

After many rounds of back and forth, the prosecutor, the lawyer and the defendant all maintained their opinions. The court declared the end of the debate. Due to the complexity of the case, the court needs 7 days of deliberation and will announce the verdict on the afternoon of October 27.

The female director pleaded her innocence to the end.

In her final statement, defendant Chau Thi My Linh pleaded not guilty to both charges. She said she had invested hundreds of billions of dong in the mine, but when mining, she discovered only slag and waste rock, "not all 3 tons dug up were coal." The female director asserted that she had always pleaded not guilty and had never admitted guilt as the prosecutor argued.

In addition to Ms. Linh, a series of defendants who are employees of Yen Phuoc Company also claimed their innocence, requesting the trial panel to return the case files and request a reinvestigation of the case.

Meanwhile, the two "mutant orchid tycoons" brothers Bui Huu Thanh and Bui Huu Giang admitted their wrongdoings and hoped to have their sentences reduced.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nu-giam-doc-keu-oan-trong-vu-khai-thac-chui-ca-trieu-tan-than-185231021084200316.htm