On 15/6, the Appellate Court of the High-level People's Court in Hanoi reviewed appeals in a case involving bribery, fraud, and appropriation of assets. The case, which centered on LanQ Pharmaceutical Company and 13 hospitals and medical centers nationwide, saw appeals from 15 defendants.

Among the defendants, Huynh Nguyen Loc, 46, was identified as having received the largest amount of bribes. He allegedly instructed his assistant to collect money, using "secret codes" for confirmation. The Hanoi People's Court sentenced him to 14 years in prison, the highest penalty in this group of offenses. Loc appealed, maintaining his innocence and requesting a complete review of the first-instance verdict.

During the appellate hearing, Loc reiterated his stance, stating he had "no need" to accept money. He claimed he did not direct or interfere with his subordinates' actions regarding the money they received, or what they did with it. He asserted that his subordinates had full authority to make decisions without his approval, despite him being the director.

Loc presented a lengthy explanation, prompting the court panel to request him to stop multiple times. However, no new significant details emerged from his testimony.

The Procuracy stated that there was sufficient evidence to establish Loc's guilt for receiving bribes. Although he denied the act in court, his family had fully compensated for the consequences. Consequently, the Procuracy recommended that the appellate court reduce Loc's sentence for receiving bribes by 2-3 years, bringing it to 11-12 years.

Huynh Nguyen Loc, former director of Institute of Traditional Medicine TP HCM, at the first-instance trial in January. Photo: Danh Lam

Huynh Nguyen Loc, former director of Institute of Traditional Medicine TP HCM, at the first-instance trial in January. Photo: Danh Lam

**Case consequences largely mitigated**

In addition to Loc, whose family repaid the entire amount, the Procuracy noted that many other appealing defendants had fully mitigated the civil consequences as ordered by the first-instance court.

This included Nguyen Manh Quyen, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of LanQ Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, who repaid over 16 billion VND. The Procuracy also recommended a 2-3 year reduction in his sentence. The first-instance court had imposed the highest penalty on him, 19 years in prison, for two crimes: fraud and bribery.

His accomplice, Pham Van Cach, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Son Lam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, received the second-highest sentence—15 years for the two aforementioned crimes. Having also repaid the full amount, the Procuracy recommended a 2-4 year reduction in his sentence.

The Procuracy also considered new mitigating circumstances for the remaining defendants, noting that the case's consequences were largely mitigated. This led to recommendations for sentence reductions of 3-9 months or conversion of prison sentences to suspended sentences.

**Mislabelled drugs and bribes to enter hospitals**

The defendants in this case were involved in two groups of violations: fraudulent invoices and drug origins to illegally claim social insurance payments, and bribery to funnel drugs into multiple hospitals.

In the first group of violations, Quyen, owner of LanQ Hospital in Bac Giang province, was found to have colluded with Cach's Son Lam Company to win drug supply bids.

The two owners then inflated drug prices, using different drugs with relabeled packaging for sale during patient treatment at the hospital. LanQ subsequently received 40 billion VND from Bac Giang Social Insurance. Of this, 18 billion VND was identified as illicit profits from the fraudulent activity.

During this process, LanQ bribed Lai, former director of Bac Giang Social Insurance, with 700 million VND to expedite advance payments and drug reimbursements, even though LanQ lacked sufficient documentation.

At the first-instance trial, Lai admitted receiving the money, describing how businesses "rushed into his office", stuffing envelopes with money into documents or chasing him to hand over cash.

He claimed that when he accepted the money, his legal awareness was limited, and he did not consider it bribery. He stated he had previously refused valuable deer antler velvet, thick envelopes from the hospital, and other much more valuable gifts.

The second group of violations involved Cach and the process of bribing officials at 13 hospitals with 71 billion VND to sell drugs and medicinal materials.

Cach testified that he provided the money to avoid "difficulties." Funds were transferred via bank or handed over in cash, either directly to hospital directors or to accounts of acquaintances, depending on their preference.

For instance, Huong, former director of Thai Nguyen Traditional Medicine Hospital, instructed transfers to her sister's account, with the transfer description "land deposit." However, she explained that she received funds via bank transfer for easier accounting when spending money on the hospital's collective expenses, arguing that if it were a bribe, she would have received cash.

Meanwhile, Loc, former director of Institute of Traditional Medicine TP HCM, vehemently denied the accusations, stating he had "no need" to accept bribes because he earned a good income and frequently received support from well-off friends.

Thanh Lam