On 30/9, the Hai Phong People's Court sentenced defendant Truong Sy Toan to 19 years in prison for violating food safety regulations.

The other individuals were found guilty of one of the following crimes: violating food safety regulations, receiving bribes, or giving bribes.

Toan (wearing glasses, front row) and other defendants in the case. *Photo: Le Tan*

According to the indictment, from 5/2025 to 8/9/2025, Ha Long Canned Food JSC purchased over 197 tons of lean pork infected with African swine fever from Bui Duc Trong. The total value was nearly 17,4 billion VND.

To secure the supply, Trong connected with a network collecting diseased pigs from small-scale farms and slaughterhouses in various localities, including Hung Yen, Thai Binh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong. Among them, Le Ba Doanh supplied nearly 97 tons of pork (valued at over 8,5 billion VND) and Trinh Ha Viet supplied nearly 95 tons (valued at nearly 8,4 billion VND).

Defendant Doanh also collected pork skin in Hai Phong and transported it for Trong, earning 9 million VND per month.

The verdict stated that when this contaminated raw material entered the processing plant, numerous leaders and employees of Ha Long Canned Food JSC deliberately bypassed control procedures. Specifically, Truong Sy Toan (general director), along with Pham Thi Thuy Lan (deputy head of quality management department), Bui Thi Thoan (raw material inspection team leader), and Lai Thi Thanh Huong (raw material receiving staff), failed to collect samples for testing and skipped food safety inspection steps for batches supplied by Trong.

Furthermore, to legalize quarantine procedures, Le Nhat Huy (sales department staff) repeatedly bribed Tran Thi Huong (deputy head of the fishing vessel monitoring and mobile quarantine station under the Department of Fisheries, Livestock, and Veterinary Medicine of Hai Phong) from 2017 to 9/2025, with payments ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 VND per month (totaling 34 million VND). In exchange for the money, Huong falsified reports, skipped the quarantine sampling stage, and issued food safety certificates for the company's shipments.

During the investigation, authorities discovered and mandated the destruction of pork valued at over 9,7 billion VND.

Ha Long Canned Food Joint Stock Company, established in 1957 in Hai Phong as Ha Long Canned Fish Factory, currently operates three factories. This company is a leading enterprise in the processed food sector, including canned meat, canned fish, and sausages.

Le Tan