Video: Escorting 2 former Ministers Nguyen Thanh Long, Chu Ngoc Anh and 36 defendants to court in the Viet A case
On the morning of January 4, answering questions in court in the Viet A case, defendant Pham Xuan Thang stated that he was elected Secretary of the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee since October 2020.
Mr. Thang said that at first, Hai Duong had two outbreaks but the scale was very small. When Hai Duong had the third outbreak, Mr. Thang was attending the Party Congress in Hanoi. Here, Mr. Thang was met by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long (then Minister of Health), who told him to let Viet A come back to fight the epidemic in Hai Duong.
"However, the defendant did not do anything and also told Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long that this matter needed to be discussed with the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee," defendant Thang said.
Mr. Thang affirmed that he had absolutely no influence on the advisory agencies and said that he discussed with Pham Manh Cuong (then Director of Hai Duong Department of Health) about Mr. Long introducing Viet A to fight the epidemic. At that time, Mr. Cuong said "that's great".
“Why was defendant Viet allowed to attend the Provincial Party Standing Committee meeting?” the presiding judge asked. Mr. Thang said he did not remember which agency or individual advised Viet to attend. However, according to him, in the urgent context of fighting the epidemic, it is possible to invite relevant parties to consult. “I think that is necessary,” said the former Hai Duong Party Secretary.
Former Hai Duong Provincial Party Secretary Pham Xuan Thang in court.
The chairman asked: "Was the participation of Viet A influenced by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long?"
The former Hai Duong Party Secretary replied: "At that time, the epidemic prevention work was urgent. Viet A was proposed by specialized agencies and at the same time, there was a highly qualified head of the Ministry of Health who recommended it, so I trusted it."
"What do you think about the defendant's violations and the indictment?", the court asked.
"I find it reasonable. I received 1 material gift from Viet A, which was 100,000 USD, after Tet, and Viet gave it. In addition, I received 3 gifts from Mr. Pham Duy Tuyen, totaling 600 million and 50,000 USD. I used the money I received for personal expenses," the former Hai Duong Secretary explained.
Former Hai Duong Provincial Party Secretary Pham Xuan Thang was prosecuted for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties" as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 356 of the Penal Code.
According to the indictment, in order to sell a large number of test kits, General Director of Viet A Company Phan Quoc Viet asked Nguyen Thanh Long (then Minister of Health) to influence and received approval from Mr. Pham Xuan Thang.
After that, Mr. Thang chaired meetings of the Standing Committee of Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee, the Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control at the provincial level and districts, cities and towns and issued 3 concluding notices directing Viet A Company to participate in COVID-19 testing in the province.
In addition, Mr. Thang also concluded and directed at the meeting on February 22, 2021 for the Steering Committee for Disease Prevention to issue a plan to help Viet A Company expand the scope of exclusive testing to sell test kits and other medical supplies and biological products.
Mr. Thang's actions created conditions for Viet A to illegally profit, causing losses to the State of more than 73 billion VND.
During the illegal direction to help Viet A, the former Secretary of the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee received 100,000 USD from Phan Quoc Viet as a thank you. In addition, Mr. Thang also received 600 million VND and 50,000 USD from Pham Duy Tuyen. The total amount of money Mr. Thang received was more than 4 billion VND.
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