Former department heads declare they have no expertise

On January 24, the People's Court of Khanh Hoa province continued the trial of 9 former officials and leaders of Khanh Hoa province for the crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of state assets causing loss and waste" occurring at the Oceanus project, now renamed Muong Thanh Vien Trieu, in Bai Duong area, Pham Van Dong street, Nha Trang city.

At the trial, the answers to questions about the role of members of the Khanh Hoa Province Land Valuation Council in the case by former department leaders made the panel of judges dissatisfied with the defendants' lack of responsibility during their work.

Specifically, defendant Nguyen Ngoc Tam (former Deputy Director of the Department of Finance, former Permanent Vice Chairman of the Land Valuation Council of Khanh Hoa province) stated: Because of many things and trusting subordinates, he did not participate in meetings related to land valuation in Bai Duong area, nor did he study the documents but still signed the submission to the Provincial People's Committee.

Defendant Nguyen Ngoc Tam - former Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Finance - at the trial.

Defendant Tran Sy Quan (former Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Tax Department) said that he worked in the tax industry so he was not involved in land valuation, had no training or expertise, and only participated to make up the composition.

“ The defendant did not read the file. When he received the document sent by Mr. Tam, he saw the signature of the chairman of the council, so he signed it immediately. When he was the Deputy Director of the Tax Department, the documents he had to sign were piled high on his desk every day, so he had no time to read or study them, and he completely trusted his subordinates who had initialed them ,” Mr. Quan admitted.

Defendant Tran Sy Quan said he only joined the council to have enough members.

Similarly, defendant Nguyen Van Nhut (former Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Planning and Investment) also admitted that he only participated in the council to have enough members according to the assigned responsibilities, but did not have the expertise. “ At that time, whenever I was in that position, I was assigned to participate by default. The Department did not have anyone with enough expertise or training to do this job. The defendant also trusted his subordinates as a support team, so when he submitted it, he signed it, ” said Mr. Nhut.

In response to those answers, the presiding judge said that the defendants did not fulfill their responsibilities and were not worthy of the expectations that the Party, State and superiors had placed in them.

According to the indictment, the 9 defendants in the Muong Thanh Vien Trieu case committed many violations in selecting investors, granting investment certificates, and agreeing on architectural and planning plans.

These defendants also violated the law in issuing decisions on land allocation, land lease, land valuation, land price approval and land use right certificates without going through auctions and bidding. The defendants' actions caused a loss of more than VND5.6 billion to the state budget in 2015; and more than VND356 billion as of January 6, 2022 (when the violations were discovered).

Former officials and leaders of Khanh Hoa province at the trial of the Muong Thanh Vien Trieu case.

Previously, on January 23, Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Court tried 9 defendants including: Nguyen Chien Thang (former Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee), Dao Cong Thien (former Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee), Vo Tan Thai (former Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment), Nguyen Ngoc Tam (former Deputy Director of the Department of Finance), Vu Xuan Thieng (former Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment), Tran Quang Buu (former Deputy Director of the Department of Construction), Nguyen Van Nhut (former Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment), Tran Sy Quan (former Deputy Director of the Provincial Tax Department) and Le Huy Toan (former Vice Chairman of the Nha Trang City People's Committee) for the crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste".

(Source: Tien Phong)

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