On the afternoon of 29/7, the People's Court of Lam Dong province sentenced Dinh The Hung to three years in prison and Nguyen Van Thanh to two and a half years in prison for violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences, under Article 222 of the Penal Code.

Vo Thi Minh Thao, a former employee of the Provincial General Hospital; Le Thuc Thien, director of Trieu Tin Company; and Doan Thi My Chi, an employee of Minh Khoa Company, received suspended sentences ranging from one year three months to one year six months for the same offense.

Defendant Nguyen Van Thanh (seated left) and his accomplices in court on 29/7. *Photo: Nguyen Tu*

The indictment states that during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020, Thanh, as director of Binh Thuan Provincial General Hospital, instructed subordinates to borrow test kits from Hop Nhat Company and a Realtime PCR testing system from Viet A Company for prior use. Subsequently, Thanh directed the collection of price quotes and technical specifications from businesses, then modified information in the bid documents to legitimize payment procedures for Minh Khoa, Hop Nhat, and Viet A Companies. These actions caused damages exceeding 6 billion VND to the state budget.

In this case, Chi acted as an accomplice to Thanh by providing configurations, technical specifications, and ventilator price quotes to Thao and Thien. This information was used to modify the bid invitation documents, falsifying records and limiting competition from other bidders.

Separately, Dinh The Hung, while serving as director of Binh Thuan CDC, directed the borrowing of test kits, chemicals, and medical supplies from Hop Nhat Company. Hung then legitimized payment documents through a conventional direct procurement process to ensure this company won the bid. The total damages caused by these violations exceeded 61.6 billion VND.

Hung and Thanh were temporarily detained on 3/10/2025 and released on bail almost three months later.

Tu Huynh