HCMC – Prosecutors in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on July 20 indicted four inspectors of the Ministry of Construction for demanding bribes in June last year.

The defendants comprise Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, deputy chief of the ministry’s anti-corruption division and head of an inspection team; Nguyen Thi Kim Lien, officer at the ministry’s construction inspection division No. 3; Dang Hai Anh, executive at the ministry’s construction inspection division No. 2 and Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, member of the inspection team. According to the indictment issued by the prosecution, Kim Anh will face a prison sentence of 20 years or a life sentence based on Clause 4 of Article 355 of the Penal Code, while Thuy Linh will get a jail sentence of 13-20 years based on Clause 3 of Article 355, Thanh Nien news site reported. Based on Clause 2 of Article 355, Kim Lien and Hai Anh may spend 6-13 years behind bars. The investigation concluded that these defendants received bribes worth a total of over VND2.1 billion from firms and investors while inspecting multiple activities including zoning, issuing construction permits and managing investments for projects in Vinh Phuc Province’s Vinh Tuong District. In April last year, Kim Anh was assigned to lead a team to inspect construction and investment activities in the district. On June 12, 2019, the Vinh Phuc Province police caught Kim Anh, Hai Anh and Kim Lien red-handed receiving bribes from several individuals.