Pham Tan Hoang, 59 years old, former Deputy Chief Justice of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang, was the only one among 28 defendants yesterday not to receive the mitigating circumstance of "sincere confession" from the prosecution. The People's Procuracy recommended a sentence of three to four years in prison for bribery, as he received a total of 220 million dong in two separate cases.

Specifically, he received 140 million dong to reduce an 18-month prison sentence for a defendant in a murder case and 80 million dong to issue a cassation decision for a civil lawsuit.

Hoang surrendered on 17/7/2024 but has only admitted to receiving money in the first case, denying the 80 million dong in the second case.

Pham Tan Hoang, former Deputy Chief Justice of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang, at court. Photo: Danh Lam

Pham Tan Hoang, former Deputy Chief Justice of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang, at court. Photo: Danh Lam

The conduct he is currently denying relates to a deposit contract dispute lawsuit, which the Quang Tri Provincial People's Court heard on appeal in 7/2023. The appellate court upheld the first-instance judgment, rejecting the defendant's appeal. Subsequently, the defendant filed a petition for cassation, seeking to annul the aforementioned judgments.

In 11/2023, the defendant sought out defendant Bui Thi Phuong, a secretary at the Civil Judgment Enforcement Department of Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri province, to ask for intervention from an authorized person.

Phuong called defendant Nguyen Thi Nga, then Deputy Head of the Civil, Labor, and Commercial Review Department at the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang. Nga agreed and requested 135 million dong.

According to the People's Procuracy's indictment, after receiving the money, Nga gave 80 million dong to Hoang, who was then assigned as the presiding judge for the cassation hearing, to ask him to rule as requested by the defendant.

In 1/2024, the cassation hearing presided over by Hoang issued a judgment exactly as the person who paid the money desired.

Testifying in court, Nga stated that she messaged Hoang via Zalo with the content: "This case is a favor for my friend, please consider if there are grounds." Hoang, however, asserted that "Nga's testimony is completely untrue." He claimed he did not receive any requests from Nga regarding this lawsuit.

"Nga is a colleague, sending messages is her right. I truly did not care, did not bother, and did not reply; generally, I paid no attention to requests," he explained.

**"Did not care" but hearted the message four times**

Responding to Hoang's and his lawyer's view that there were "no grounds" to prosecute the former chief justice in this bribery case, arguing that Nga's testimony was one-sided, the People's Procuracy affirmed it was "completely grounded."

Among the 28 defendants, 10 were former leaders, judges, and civil servants of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang and local people's courts. Photo: Danh Lam

The representative of the Hanoi People's Procuracy printed large-format screenshots of Zalo messages between Nga and Hoang, extracted directly from Nga's phone, and presented them at the trial as evidence.

In this conversation, Hoang was saved as "anh Hoang pho chanh an" (Brother Hoang Deputy Chief Justice), and Nga sent him photos of the case's hearing schedule along with the protest and her request for intervention.

The screenshots showed that Hoang had viewed the message and interacted with Nga's message using a heart emoji, "not once, but four times, clearly visible on this Zalo message," the People's Procuracy cited.

The prosecution argued that this was objective electronic evidence proving the former deputy chief justice had received, viewed, and interacted with the message. Nga later screenshotted this conversation and sent it to Phuong, the person who made the request, with the message "Anh ok roi" (He's okay with it).

The People's Procuracy stated it also extracted data from defendant Phuong's phone, which showed matching information.

Citing Hoang's testimony, this lawsuit was one of the cases scheduled for hearing on the morning of 27/1/2024, starting after 8:00 h.

Meanwhile, in Nga's extracted Zalo message to Phuong at 8:03 h on the same day, Nga reported: "It's done, my friend, the protest was accepted," even though the trial, in theory, had only been underway for three minutes.

According to the People's Procuracy, this indicates that Nga knew the judicial panel's view before the trial concluded, and the outcome of this trial, presided over by Hoang, was as desired by the petitioner.

Additionally, according to the People's Procuracy, based on Nga's and Hoang's testimonies at trial, their relationship was good, even close, with their offices next to each other, and no conflicts or animosity. In this matter, Nga actively confessed, and her testimony remained consistent throughout. Her testimony helped clarify the incident. From these arguments, the People's Procuracy concluded there were grounds to convict Hoang in this bribery case.

Nga, accused of being the most active broker in the entire case, mediated 15 cases, with 10 successful ones, aiming to profit up to 8,6 billion dong. According to the indictment, Nga inflated prices or actively cut funds, personally benefiting 30-330 million dong per case. Yesterday, the People's Procuracy recommended six to seven years in prison for her—the highest among 15 individuals prosecuted for bribery brokerage.

During questioning, lawyers repeatedly asked Nga whether, when she took money to arrange matters for defendants and litigants, she informed them how much money she gave to the judges. Nga calmly replied: "I was doing them a favor, I had to keep the numbers secret from them to keep a share for myself."

>>Recommended sentences for 28 defendants

**"A bitter lesson"**

In his final statement, Hoang "wished to conclude by saying he did not receive the 80 million dong." The former deputy chief justice apologized to the judiciary, sharing that his entire life, 40 years across many units, 20 years working far from home, suffering multiple strokes and illnesses while still striving, had led him to court today due to a mistake.

"This is a bitter lesson for my entire life," Hoang said, asking for a suspended sentence to return to his family and treat his heart condition.

Hoang's former colleague, Pham Viet Cuong, former Deputy Chief Justice of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang, spoke briefly, regretting that 20 years of striving to be a chief justice "all went down the drain," solely due to temporary deference.

He was accused of receiving 970 million dong in bribes to intervene in five cases but claimed he "reported to superiors" who agreed before he accepted the money, and that he shared the bribes with leaders. He was recommended seven to eight years in prison for bribery.

Among the 28 defendants, 10 were former leaders, judges, and civil servants of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang and local people's courts. Photo: Danh Lam

Nguyen Xuan Hung, former Chief Justice of the Dak Doa District People's Court, Gia Lai province, was involved in "case manipulation" for his wife, also a judge, to prevent her case from being reviewed or protested, avoiding impact on her reappointment.

Hung stated that after 24 years as a judge, he was "extremely ashamed" to stand in a position contrary to his years of service. Regardless of his motive, Hung acknowledged his actions were wrong.

Among the 28 defendants are: 10 former leaders, judges, and civil servants of the High-Level People's Court in Da Nang and local people's courts; three former prosecutors and staff from the prosecution sector; two former enforcement officers and civil servants from the Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency; four lawyers and law office staff; and nine individuals who were defendants, litigants, and their family members.

According to the prosecution, 20 "case manipulation" incidents were serious, occurred over a long period, and involved offenders with knowledge, high positions, and work in the legal field, who committed crimes for personal gain. Bringing the case to trial demonstrates the determination in combating crime, with no forbidden zones; anyone, regardless of their position, will be handled if they violate the law.

Thanh Lam