The Ca Mau Provincial Police Investigation Agency has concluded its investigation and recommended that the Provincial People's Procuracy prosecute five defendants for violating regulations on compensation, support, and resettlement during state land recovery. The case, which allegedly caused damages exceeding 5.5 billion VND to the State budget, occurred in 2019 in Ward 7, former Bac Lieu City, now part of Bac Lieu ward, Ca Mau province.

The five defendants include: Duong Thanh Trung, 65, former chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee; Pham Quoc Nam, 64, former director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Le Quang Phuc, 64, former deputy director in charge of the Provincial Housing and Land Fund Development Center; Hoang Trung Canh, 42, former head of the Land Fund Development Department under the center; and Nguyen Ngoc Hanh, 46, former deputy head of the Land Management Sub-Department, Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Bac Lieu province.

Duong Thanh Trung during his tenure as Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee. *Photo: Chuc Ly*

According to the investigation findings, on 15/10/2018, Duong Thanh Trung signed a decision to recover over 41,000 square meters of land at the Tran Huynh Cultural Center in Ward 7, Bac Lieu City, from Quoc Lam One-Member Limited Liability Trading - Service Company (Quoc Lam Company). The Provincial Housing and Land Fund Development Center was then assigned to manage the land.

Subsequently, on 22/11/2018, Le Quang Phuc and Hoang Trung Canh organized a survey and inventory of Quoc Lam Company's assets on the recovered land. By 22/1/2019, Canh drafted a compensation and support plan for the company totaling over 28.7 billion VND.

On 29/1/2019, Trung chaired a meeting to review project progress in the area, including the land recovery at Tran Huynh Cultural Park. On the same day, he signed a decision approving the compensation and support plan for Quoc Lam Company, also for over 28.7 billion VND.

Investigators determined that this compensation plan contained several provisions inconsistent with land law, resulting in over 5.5 billion VND in damages to the State budget. Specifically, the plan included nearly 3 billion VND for equipment from a roller skate rink, an online game room, and a 5D cinema room. These items were not permanently attached to the land, were not listed in the inspection report, and were therefore ineligible for compensation.

Furthermore, the plan allocated over 1.2 billion VND for 10% of the contingency costs for three categories: indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, an art stage, and site leveling. Investigators found that these amounts were based on cost estimates provided by Quoc Lam Company, without any invoices or documents to verify their actual use, making them ineligible for compensation.

Another 1.3 billion VND was identified as compensation for unlicensed structures and items that did not comply with planning regulations, and were thus also ineligible for compensation.

Tran Huynh Cultural Park in 2018. *Photo: Minh Phong*

The Police Investigation Agency accused Hoang Trung Canh, in his capacity as head of the Land Fund Development Department, of drafting the compensation and support plan for the recovered land from Quoc Lam Company. During this process, Canh allegedly created a plan that violated regulations concerning the unit prices for compensation and support for housing, structures, and architectural objects during state land recovery.

Pham Quoc Nam, as director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, was responsible for overseeing the appraisal of the compensation and support plan. However, investigators determined that Nam and his specialized department failed to adequately review the plan. They did not identify that the cost estimates provided by Quoc Lam Company had not been properly verified as required, which led to the approval of the plan and the submission of a proposal for support and compensation that was non-compliant.

Regarding Duong Thanh Trung, investigators stated that he signed the decision to approve the compensation plan of over 28.7 billion VND based on Pham Quoc Nam's proposal.

Before signing, Trung chaired a meeting to hear the appraisal results. During this meeting, Nam explicitly stated that the site leveling costs lacked actual data and were calculated based on cost estimates provided by Quoc Lam Company.

Despite hearing the report and reviewing the proposal, Trung did not order a re-evaluation of the plan. Instead, he concluded the compensation for Quoc Lam Company and subsequently signed the approval decision, according to the investigation findings.

An Minh