'Received a bribe of 25 billion, took the money thinking only of thanking, only realized wrong when caught'

On the afternoon of December 26, the High People's Court in Hanoi continued to hear the appeal of 21 defendants in the "rescue flight" case.

After the prosecutor's representative stated his views on resolving the case, the defendants and defense attorneys joined in the debate.

Defendant Hoang Van Hung, former investigator of the "rescue flight" case

Lawyer asks for sentence reduction for Hoang Van Hung

Hoang Van Hung, former Head of Department 5, Security Investigation Agency, Ministry of Public Security, was sentenced to life in prison by the first instance court for fraud and property appropriation. After pleading guilty and recovering the entire 18.8 billion VND, the representative of the appellate prosecutor's office proposed that the former investigator's sentence be reduced to 20 years in prison.

Defending defendant Hung, lawyer Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang said that the 20-year prison sentence proposed by the prosecutor, although lower than the life sentence imposed by the court of first instance, was still too heavy and severe.

According to the lawyer, the original purpose of defendant Hung when meeting former Deputy Director of Hanoi City Police Nguyen Anh Tuan was to encourage defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang (Deputy General Director of Bluesky Company) to confess in order to receive leniency.

Later, the handling policy changed, the prosecution agency accused Hang and Le Hong Son (General Director of Bluesky Company) of bribing many officials with an especially large amount of money, so they had to be criminally prosecuted. Defendant Hung should have discussed with defendant Tuan and ended the contact; but because of respect for Mr. Tuan's help, he still met many times.

According to the lawyer, the defendant Hung is very remorseful for his actions. Just because he wanted to make a contribution, the defendant made a mistake, then continued to commit wrongdoings leading to further mistakes.

The lawyer said that the defendant Hung must of course be held responsible for what he did. However, the punishment is not only to punish but also to educate the offender. The lawyer hoped that the appellate court would pronounce a sentence that was deterrent enough so that the defendant would have a chance to reform and continue to contribute to society with what he had been trained to do...

Defendants at the appeal hearing of the "rescue flight" case

Received 25 billion bribe, used money to invest in stocks

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, former Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was accused of receiving bribes of 25 billion VND from many businesses during the flight licensing process.

In July, Ms. Lan was sentenced to life in prison by the Hanoi People's Court for accepting bribes. At the appeal hearing, the representative of the Hanoi High People's Procuracy requested that the defendant's sentence be reduced to 20 years in prison.

A notable detail is that most of the defendants who received bribes in the "rescue flight" case have recovered most of the illegal profits. However, with Ms. Lan, although she received a bribe of up to 25 billion, the defendant has only recovered more than 1.2 billion VND.

Defending himself in court about only recovering a small portion of the bribe money, the former director said he initially thought he could use the seized assets to recover the consequences.

However, when the jury explained, the defendant understood that he needed to make the necessary changes as quickly as possible to receive leniency. Therefore, after the first day of trial, although his family had no other assets, the defendant, through his lawyer, asked his friends to support him and help him raise 5 billion VND to pay the additional amount.

According to the defendant, at the time of organizing the flight, the defendant received money because he thought the businesses would thank him after completing the work; only when he was arrested did he realize that accepting gifts and money was wrong.

The defendant said that most of the money he received from the company was transferred to his account to buy stocks and bonds. The rest was used for personal expenses. Since the defendant was arrested and brought to trial, all accounts have been frozen, and the investment money is also "in there".

Defendant Nguyen Thi Huong Lan was escorted to court.

Former deputy secretary wants to enjoy the "redeemed merit" circumstance

Another defendant, To Anh Dung, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, was accused of accepting bribes of VND21.5 billion from many companies that organized flights. At the first instance, Mr. Dung was sentenced to 16 years in prison for accepting bribes. At the appeal, the former Deputy Minister was asked by the representative of the High People's Procuracy in Hanoi to reduce his sentence to 12-13 years in prison.

Defending himself in court, the defendant Dung bowed his head and asked the panel of judges to grant him a lenient sentence, so that he could return to his family soon. The defendant's defense attorney also expressed "gratitude" to the representative of the prosecutor's office, for their thorough assessment, and from there, recommended a reduction in the client's sentence. The attorney also listed Mr. Dung's achievements, awards, and certificates of merit, hoping that the panel of judges would consider and reduce the defendant's sentence.

In the "rescue flight" case, defendant Pham Trung Kien, former Secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health, is one of the defendants whose appeal was rejected by the prosecutor's representative and life sentence upheld for bribery.

Defendant Kien said that he had been "criticized a lot by public opinion" and so he wanted to receive an objective and fair sentence. The former Secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health also said that he had boldly faced the truth, abandoned greed, and mobilized his family to overcome the consequences.

In addition to the amount of money proven by the investigation agency, Kien also proactively declared the amount of money received from individual customers, helping to clarify the case. Therefore, the defendant expressed his wish to enjoy the circumstance of "making merit to atone for his crime".

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-hoi-lo-25-ti-cam-tien-chi-nghi-la-cam-on-bi-bat-moi-biet-sai-185231226153929644.htm