Kick the person who gave me the money out of the room, 'no one can bribe me'

On the afternoon of January 22, the High People's Court in Hanoi continued to try the case of producing and trading fake textbooks on a very large scale, related to Mr. Tran Hung, former Head of Group 304, now Group 1444 (General Department of Market Management, Ministry of Industry and Trade).

Mr. Tran Hung was sentenced to 9 years in prison by the first instance court for accepting a bribe of 300 million VND from Ms. Cao Thi Minh Thuan, Director of Phu Hung Phat Company, to help the company only be administratively punished instead of having to transfer the case to the police for handling. The defendant appealed, claiming his innocence.

Defendant Tran Hung asserted "no one can bribe me"

The path of 300 million VND

In court, Ms. Cao Thi Minh Thuan said that when Phu Minh Phat Company was inspected for a batch of fake textbooks, the defendant saw Mr. Tran Hung present and "directing this person and that person", so she thought Mr. Hung was an important person.

Having known Mr. Nguyen Duy Hai (the bribe broker) before, Ms. Thuan asked Mr. Hai for Mr. Hung's phone number. The defendant called and asked to meet Mr. Hung with the intention of "asking" him to help handle the case; Mr. Hung answered the phone but did not meet her. Ms. Thuan continued to text and received a reply from Mr. Hung that he would release her if she revealed the illegal book printing facilities.

After that, Ms. Thuan discussed with Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Deputy Director of Hanoi Printing and Culture Communication Joint Stock Company, and agreed to pay money to ask for Mr. Hung's help. However, these two people did not directly give the money but asked Mr. Nguyen Duy Hai to act as an intermediary.

To carry out the plan, Ms. Thuan gave Mr. Ha a plastic bag containing 300 million VND (4 stacks of 500,000 VND bills, 5 stacks of 200,000 VND bills). Mr. Ha gave this bag of money to Mr. Hai. Mr. Hai brought the bag of money to the office and gave it to Mr. Hung.

According to Ms. Thuan’s testimony, Mr. Hai confirmed that he had given money to Mr. Hung. Although she did not witness it directly, Ms. Thuan believed and felt that the case was resolved as expected, as evidenced by the fact that the company was only administratively fined and not transferred to the police.

Ms. Thuan also admitted that she was instructed to change her statement about the origin of the fake textbooks, from trading to consignment. This statement was given by Mr. Hung to Mr. Hai, Mr. Hai to Mr. Ha, and then Mr. Ha to Ms. Thuan.

Agreeing with Ms. Thuan’s testimony, defendant Nguyen Manh Ha confirmed that he gave a bag of 300 million VND to Mr. Nguyen Duy Hai, to give to Mr. Tran Hung. No one witnessed the process, nor was there any audio or video recording to prove it.

At the first instance trial in July 2023, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hai confirmed that he gave 300 million VND to Mr. Tran Hung and was sentenced to 27 months in prison for bribery brokerage. Today, the defendant was summoned as a witness, but filed a request for trial in absentia.

Another defendant questioned was Le Viet Phuong, former Deputy Captain of Market Management Team No. 17 (Hanoi). Defendant Phuong stated that he was initially determined to handle the Phu Hung Phat Company case, and planned to propose transferring the case to the investigation agency. However, because Mr. Tran Hung called to influence and direct a light punishment (administrative fine), the case was not transferred to the police.

Former market management officer continuously claims innocence during the case settlement process

Defendant Tran Hung: "10 years of fighting counterfeit goods, no one has been able to bribe me"

In contrast to the defendants Cao Thi Minh Thuan, Nguyen Manh Ha and Le Viet Phuong, Mr. Tran Hung said that the statements of these people were all incorrect.

The former market management officer affirmed that he did not direct defendant Le Viet Phuong, because the authority to handle the case belongs to the team leader, not the Deputy Team Leader of Market Management Team No. 17. Mr. Hung himself received the report and transferred the file to handle the case according to his authority, but he did not have the authority to influence or direct anything.

Defendant Tran Hung also stated that he had never known defendant Cao Thi Minh Thuan before, and only found out when he was present at the scene to check the fake books of Phu Hung Phat Company. After the day the fake books were seized, Ms. Thuan texted and called to ask to meet, but he refused, saying that "we will only meet when working".

During the process of resolving the case, Mr. Hung stated that Le Viet Phuong had called him and gave the phone to Ms. Thuan so that the two could talk. Mr. Hung said, "Just do it according to the law, the more familiar you are, the more strict you will be."

Regarding the accusation of receiving a bag of 300 million VND from Mr. Nguyen Duy Hai, Mr. Tran Hung admitted that Mr. Hai had come to his office many times, including at noon on July 15, 2020. When he arrived, Mr. Hai presented a plastic bag, saying that it was a gift from Ms. Thuan to the working group.

However, Mr. Hung said he immediately chased Mr. Hai out of the room, saying "you want to bribe me, I'll report it to the police now". This defendant repeatedly affirmed that "in 10 years of fighting counterfeit goods, no one has been able to bribe me", including the Phu Hung Phat Company case.

After refusing to accept the gift bag from Mr. Hai, Mr. Hung went home because his family had a death anniversary. He did not know whether Mr. Hai returned to Mr. Hung's office or not.

Regarding the fact that Phu Hung Phat Company was only administratively sanctioned without transferring the case to the police, defendant Tran Hung said that with such a large number of fake books, it was natural that the case should be transferred to the police, and that it could not be based on Ms. Cao Minh Thuan's statement. However, as stated, the decision to handle the case was not within the defendant's authority.

Summoned to court as a witness, Mr. Kieu Nghiep (former member of Task Force 304), one of the people present at the meeting between Mr. Hai and Mr. Hung, admitted that he saw Mr. Hai bring a plastic bag into Mr. Hung's office. However, when Mr. Hai tried to leave the bag behind, Mr. Hung told him to take it home immediately or he would report it to the police. After sitting for a while, Mr. Hung told his brothers to go have lunch, and he had to go home for something...

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