Former Minister Nguyen Thanh Long has retinal detachment?

On the afternoon of January 8, the trial of two former ministers and 36 defendants in the Viet A scandal entered the debate phase. Lawyers presented their defense views for the defendants.

Defending defendant Nguyen Thanh Long (former Minister of Health), the lawyer said his client had lost all vision in his left eye due to retinal detachment.

According to the lawyer, the reason Mr. Long had the above symptoms was that he did not receive timely treatment due to psychological trauma and many sleepless nights during the epidemic prevention period.

All three of Mr. Long's lawyers agreed with the indictment of the People's Procuracy, when the prosecution agency allowed the former minister to enjoy mitigating circumstances such as remedying the consequences, honestly confessing, repenting, and having achievements in work.

However, lawyer Tran Nam Long (defending Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long) requested the panel of judges to consider accusing Mr. Long of committing organized crime.

According to the lawyer, his client had an accomplice but their role was "simple" and there was no close collusion.

Defendant Nguyen Thanh Long at trial (Photo: Phuong Nguyen).

Lawyer Long said that not only the former Minister of Health, but also other defendants who worked in state management agencies in the health sector and committed wrongdoings were all in a unique, unprecedented context.

"In that context, all those working in the medical field had no other thoughts than how the country could soon proactively produce test kits to serve urgent practical needs. That context was the historical circumstance that led to my client's "wrongful" actions," lawyer Long stated.

Also defending Mr. Long, another lawyer said that the former minister did not favor Viet A. The lawyer proved that, in the process of officially licensing the test kit, in addition to Viet A, there was also a kit from Sao Thai Duong Company.

According to the lawyer, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long has received a document from the Ministry of Health and the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology recognizing his achievements and proposing a reduction in his criminal liability.

Currently, more than 140 close colleagues and colleagues who worked with or under the leadership of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long have submitted documents requesting a reduction in the sentence for the former Minister of Health.

In addition, according to incomplete statistics, during the Covid-19 epidemic, Mr. Long directed the Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front, to request funding of an estimated resource of more than 35,000 billion VND in cash and in-kind, which is more than 20 types of medical equipment such as ventilators, testing machines, injection vehicles, etc.

Thanks to that, many people were saved, the whole country soon returned to normal, and production and business were restored.

Defense attorney for former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long (Photo: Nguyen Phuong).

Previously, the representative of the Procuracy requested the Trial Council to sentence Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long to 19-20 years in prison for the crime of Receiving bribes. Mr. Long received more than 2.2 million USD from Viet A.

At the trial, defending Phan Quoc Viet, lawyers Ha The Long and Tran Quan asked the panel of judges to consider the contributions of their client and Viet A.

According to the lawyer, in fact, Viet A Company's test kit has promptly served urgent tasks, performing testing and isolating epidemic areas.

According to the lawyer, during the investigation of the case, Viet confessed honestly and influenced his wife to pay money to remedy the consequences.

At the same time, the Chairman of Viet A also submitted a request to use the money and assets that are being frozen and seized to remedy the consequences. Therefore, Phan Quoc Viet's defense attorney hopes that the panel of judges will give his client a sentence below the lowest level of the penalty range.

The Procuracy proposed a sentence of 15-16 years in prison for defendant Phan Quoc Viet for Bribery; 15-16 years in prison for Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences. Total sentence of 30 years in prison.

"Simple" accomplice

During the debate, lawyer Nguyen Van Tu, defending defendant Nguyen Huynh (former Deputy Head of Drug Price Management Department, Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health) presented his views to defend his client.

Accordingly, the lawyer said that in the above case, defendant Nguyen Huynh was identified as an accomplice. However, lawyer Tu assessed defendant Huynh's role as an accomplice as "simple" rather than strict.

In addition, Mr. Huynh also actively cooperated with the investigation agency, contributing to the key details of the case, helping to quickly resolve the case.

Therefore, the lawyer hopes that the Trial Panel will consider the circumstances of "simple" complicity and actively cooperate with the investigation agency to reduce the sentence for defendant Huynh.

The People's Procuracy proposed a sentence of 9-10 years in prison for defendant Nguyen Huynh for the crime of accepting bribes.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/phap-luat/cuu-bo-truong-nguyen-thanh-long-mac-chung-benh-bong-day-vong-mac-20240107220701092.htm