On the evening of January 23, after 2 days of trial, the High People's Court in Hanoi upheld the first instance sentence of 9 years in prison for defendant Tran Hung, former Deputy Director of the Market Management Department, for the crime of Receiving bribes.
The People's Court accepted the appeal and reduced the sentence for Cao Thi Minh Thuan (Director of Phu Hung Phat Company) from 10 years to 8 years in prison for the crime of Manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods.
Similarly, defendant Le Viet Phuong (former officer of Market Management Team No. 17) had his sentence reduced from 30 months in prison to a suspended sentence. Many other defendants also had their appeals accepted by the court to reduce their sentences or receive suspended sentences.
Defendant Tran Hung was sentenced to 9 years in prison by the appeal court.
Previously, given the final say before the court deliberated, defendant Tran Hung continued to plead his innocence: "If I really accepted a bribe, I am willing to accept the highest penalty for accepting a bribe. I affirm that I am not guilty, I am innocent."
Defendant Tran Hung expressed his belief that the panel of judges would consider the case fairly and objectively. The former Deputy Director of Market Management also affirmed that he "always believes in and respects the law, never losing faith".
When defending former Deputy Director Tran Hung, the lawyers said there was no evidence that Mr. Hung received 300 million VND from the illegal book seller Cao Thi Minh Thuan. The person who helped Thuan give the money, Nguyen Duy Hai (a freelancer), kept changing his testimony about the bribe. Regarding the time of the bribe, Hai said Mr. Hung was at home because of a death anniversary...
The appellate judgment rejected the above views, stating that defendant Tran Hung was the Head of Group 304 of the General Department of Market Management, so he was a person with authority under the Anti-Corruption Law. The representative of the Market Management Department also testified that Tran Hung was the leader of Group 304, under the General Department of Market Management, and defendant Hung's opinion could be considered the opinion of the General Director, so he had to comply.
Tran Hung did not admit to holding the money, but the defendant himself also testified that on July 14, 2020, Hai asked Team 304 for 400 million to ignore the violation, but Hung refused. The next day, Hai brought a plastic bag containing money to Hung and was also refused.
The court found that witnesses Kieu Nghiep and Nguyen Van Kim (Tran Hung's colleagues) testified that they saw Hai carrying a black nylon bag into Hung's office. Hai then called Hung to talk on the phone and instructed Thuan to give a statement.
The testimony of witnesses Nghiep and Kim is consistent with the testimony of defendants Thuan and Hai as well as the extracted phone data. Therefore, there is sufficient basis to determine that Hai gave 300 million VND of Cao Thi Minh Thuan to Tran Hung.
Defendant Hung instructed Cao Thi Minh Thuan to declare the origin of the pirated books, from manufactured goods to consignment goods, so that she would not be criminally prosecuted, but only administratively prosecuted. Tran Hung also called defendant Le Viet Phuong, then Deputy Head of Market Management Team No. 17, who was in charge of Cao Thi Minh Thuan's case, asking Phuong to "handle the matter lightly".
Thus, Tran Hung took advantage of his position and power to accept a bribe of 300 million VND. The court of first instance sentenced him to 9 years in prison, which was correct and not unjust, and the defendant Hung did not ask for a reduction in his sentence, so the appellate court did not consider a reduction.
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