HCMC – Bo Ngoc Thu, former director of the Dong Nai Province Department of Planning and Investment (DPI), has been detained on alleged charges of graft, reported the local media.

Investigators of the Ministry of Public Security today, October 20, searched Thu’s residence in Quang Vinh Ward, Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai after her detention. She was charged with abusing her powers while on duty. Thu had spent many years working at the DPI of Dong Nai before she retired in December 2015. Prior to her arrest, Thu had been several times summoned by Ministry of Public Security investigators who were looking into her role as advisor to the then leaders of Dong Nai Province in the process of approving the Dong Nai Province General Hospital development project. Shortly earlier, Ministry of Public Security investigators detained Dinh Quoc Thai, former chairman of Dong Nai, and Tran Dinh Thanh, former Party secretary of Dong Nai, on alleged charges of taking bribes. The detention of the trio resulted from an expanded probe by the Ministry of Public Security into allegations of criminal offenses at the Dong Nai Province General Hospital project, Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC) and other related parties. Dinh Quoc Thai served as head of the steering committee for the Dong Nai Province General Hospital construction project and Bo Ngoc Thu was permanent deputy head of the steering committee. The police long ago issued an arrest warrant for the chairwoman of AIC, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, but she is still at large. Also involved in this case is Phan Huy Anh Vu, director of the Dong Nai Province Department of Health and former director of the Dong Nai Province General Hospital. Vu is now in police custody. Vu and Nhan were allegedly found to have colluded to overestimate the project cost and pocket hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong.