On 16/7, Vuong Manh Hung, a former official of the Construction Order Management and Urban Development Team of Ha Dong district, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison by the Hanoi People's Court for fraud and embezzlement.

The court found Hung guilty of falsely claiming he could expedite land-use conversions, issue land titles, secure construction permits, and arrange preferential access to apartments, despite lacking the authority to do so. He deceived numerous individuals, collecting nearly 4.9 billion VND from 16 victims.

Vuong Manh Hung at the time of his arrest. Photo: Police Department

Vuong Manh Hung at the time of his arrest. Photo: Police Department

Hung set prices based on each individual's request, ranging from 60 million VND to over one billion VND for construction permits. He also charged between 20 million VND and 400 million VND for permits to add extra floors to existing buildings. Typically, Hung promised results within 2-3 months, sometimes even claiming he could secure permits in just two days. However, the prosecution asserted that he fulfilled none of his promises and used the money for personal expenses.

In one case, Hung defrauded a 67-year-old Ha Dong resident, Mr. Thuan, of 830 million VND. To bolster his credibility, Hung hired three men to impersonate land officials and survey Mr. Thuan's property. Mr. Thuan wanted to convert his agricultural land to residential land and obtain a land title. Hung quoted him 250 million VND for "private expenses," 525 million VND for land conversion taxes, and an additional 55 million VND because Mr. Thuan's land allegedly exceeded the original records by 6.2 square meters. After a year of unfulfilled promises, Mr. Thuan reported Hung to the authorities, and Hung returned 410 million VND of the embezzled 830 million VND.

Hung's largest fraudulent transaction involved nearly 1.1 billion VND from a homeowner who wanted to build a six-story house with a basement, mezzanine, and rooftop addition, exceeding the permitted four stories and 70% density limit. Hung, presenting himself as the head of the Ha Dong district Construction Inspection Team, claimed he could secure the necessary permits for a fee ranging from 900 million VND to 1.1 billion VND (600 million VND for the permit and 300-500 million VND to handle the density issue). The homeowner agreed and paid Hung 610 million VND. When the permit was due, Hung stalled with excuses and eventually admitted he couldn't deliver, promising a refund but only returning 50 million VND. To maintain trust, he gave the victim a promissory note and his official ID card as collateral.

In cases involving social housing allocations, Hung typically demanded upfront payments of 100-150 million VND. He provided victims with application forms, requested salary statements and income verification, and asked for copies of their ID cards and household registration books to create the illusion of genuine progress.

When deadlines were missed, Hung would invent reasons to extort further tens or hundreds of millions of VND to "expedite the process," which victims readily believed and paid.

The Ha Dong district People's Committee confirmed that Hung was transferred from the Thanh Xuan district Construction Inspection Team to the Ha Dong district Construction Inspection Team under the Hanoi Department of Construction's Inspectorate in December 2016. He was dismissed on 17/4/2023.

The authorities determined that the social housing fraud cases occurred after Hung's dismissal, while the land title, land-use conversion, and construction permit scams took place during his tenure. They also clarified that Hung's position did not grant him authority over land-use conversions or issuing land titles. Relevant agencies confirmed that they had not received any applications for land-use conversions or construction permits related to the properties in question during the period of the offenses.

Hung repaid the outstanding amount of over 3 billion VND to the victims before the trial.

Hai Thu