On the afternoon of 2/2, after seven days of proceedings, the Hanoi People's Court delivered sentences to 23 defendants involved in a case of giving and receiving bribes and appropriating assets through fraud. The case involved a pharmaceutical company and 13 hospitals and medical centers nationwide.

Among the defendants, Huynh Nguyen Loc, 45, was identified as having received the largest amount in bribes.

Defendant Huynh Nguyen Loc, former director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine. Photo: Danh Lam

For the same offense, Than Duc Lai, former director of Bac Giang Social Insurance, received a five-year prison sentence. Truong Thi Thu Huong, former director of Thai Nguyen Traditional Medicine Hospital, was sentenced to 9 years and six months, while Vo Thi Kim Loan, former director of Ben Tre Traditional Medicine Hospital, received five years and six months.

Pham Van Cach, chairman of Son Lam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, who paid 71 billion VND in bribes, was sentenced to seven years for bribery and eight years for appropriating assets through fraud, totaling 15 years. Nguyen Manh Quyen, former chairman of the Board of Directors and general director of LanQ Medical Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, received 19 years.

The remaining defendants were sentenced to two to 8 years and six months in prison for receiving bribes. None were granted suspended sentences.

All defendants were ordered to return the illicitly obtained funds.

The trial was presided over by Judge Dinh Quoc Tri. Photo: Danh Lam

The verdict identified two groups of violations involving the 23 defendants: fraudulent invoicing and drug origin to profit from social insurance payments, and giving and receiving bribes to funnel drugs into multiple hospitals.

Regarding the first group of violations, the People's Procuracy determined that Quyen, owner of LanQ Hospital in Bac Giang province, colluded with Cach's company to win drug supply bids.

The two owners then inflated drug prices and used different drugs with Son Lam labels affixed 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 gains from fraudulent activities.

Pham Van Cach, chairman of Son Lam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, was questioned extensively, as he was identified as having bribed nearly 20 defendants. Photo: Danh Lam

During this process, Lai, the former director of Bac Giang Social Insurance, received 700 million VND in bribes from LanQ to expedite advance payments and drug reimbursements, despite LanQ lacking sufficient documentation.

At the trial, Lai admitted receiving money and described the difficulties of businesses "rushing into his office", stuffing envelopes with money into document files, or chasing him to hand over cash. He claimed that at the time of receiving the money, his legal awareness was limited, and he did not consider it bribery. He stated he had previously refused valuable deer antler velvet and thick envelopes from the hospital, which were far more valuable gifts.

The second group of violations involved Cach and the process of paying 71 billion VND in bribes to the leaders of 13 hospitals to secure drug and medicinal material sales.

Cach testified that he paid money to avoid "difficulties". Funds were transferred via bank or handed over in cash, either directly to hospital leaders 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 content noted as "land deposit". However, she explained that she received funds via bank transfer for easier accounting when spending money on the hospital's collective affairs, arguing that if it were a bribe, she would have accepted cash.

In contrast, Loc, the former director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine, instructed his assistant to collect the money at a hotel.

Loc was accused of receiving 47 billion VND, using "code words" for each successful transaction. However, he vehemently denied this in court, stating he had "no need" to accept bribes as he earned a lot of money and his well-off friends often provided support.

Thanh Lam