Former Vietnamese health minister jailed for 6 years over state asset losses

Pursuant to the verdict, Tien and a group of her subordinates caused a loss of over VND803 billion (US$30.5 million) linked to the second campuses of Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi.

The court found that Tien, as health minister, bore overall responsibility for directing and overseeing the sector, including signing decisions establishing the Management Board of Key Medical Projects and assigning it to manage the two projects.

The court said although her actions did not directly cause the losses for the two projects, her approvals and management failures created conditions that enabled her subordinates to commit violations that ultimately led to the large-scale waste of state funds.

Nguyen Chien Thang, former director of the management board under the ministry, received a combined sentence of 30 years for violating regulations on the management and use of state assets and accepting bribes, the harshest sentence handed down among the 10 defendants implicated in the case.

Prosecutors accused Thang of playing the central role in the case.

He demanded contractors pay five-percent commissions, allowing him to receive more than VND88 billion ($3.3 million) in illicit payments.

The court noted his professional expertise and experience in construction investment management, but it said he abused his position by proposing unlawful policies, improperly selecting contractors, and signing contracts that caused delays and losses for the two projects.

Besides, Nguyen Huu Tuan, former director of the Management Board of Key Medical Construction Projects, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on similar charges.

Investigators determined that Tuan accepted a total of VND12.1 billion ($460,000) from contractors.

The court also sentenced Dao Xuan Sinh, former director of SHT Vietnam Investment, Construction and Consulting JSC, to three years and six months in prison; Tran Van Sinh, former deputy director of the Management Board of Key Medical Construction Projects, to seven years; and Nguyen Kim Trung, former deputy director of the Management Board of Key Medical Projects, to three years.

Le Thanh Thiem, director of Sao Nam Song Hong Co., Ltd., was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraudulently appropriating assets.

Thiem received $2 million from Thang after promising to influence an inspection delegation from the Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission so that violations would be overlooked and disciplinary measures avoided.

However, Thiem never passed the money to any individual or organization and instead kept the funds for himself.

The court described the consequences of the case as particularly serious.

Therefore, it was vital to impose strict penalties on the defendants to ensure deterrence and demonstrate determination in combating crime and preventing wastefulness.

However, the panel also acknowledged multiple mitigating circumstances.

Tien was credited with fully repaying the VND7.5 billion ($284,975) she had personally benefited from and paying an additional VND17 billion ($645,800) to remedy the consequence of the case.

The former minister was also recognized for her previous contributions to Vietnam’s healthcare sector, including her work promoting organ and tissue donation.

She received numerous state honors and awards, including the title ‘People’s Doctor.’

The court further noted that her family had made outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese revolution while many of her relatives were recognized as war martyrs and ‘Heroic Vietnamese Mothers.’

The court also considered that several defendants had poor health, good personal records, and were first-time offenders.

Judges said some of the violations occurred under pressure stemming from the scale and urgency of the projects, while some officials lacked expertise in construction management.

Thang was ordered to pay more than VND393 billion ($15 million) in compensation, while Tien must pay more than VND108 billion ($4.1 million).

Tuan was required to compensate more than VND223 billion ($8.5 million).