Nguyen Minh Thoai, a former investigator with the Police Investigation Agency of District 5, is set to face trial at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on 16/4, charged with receiving bribes.
Tran Thi Dieu has been prosecuted for giving bribes in connection with the case. Tran Binh Thuan, also involved, faces charges of brokering bribes, but is currently a fugitive, leading investigators to open a separate case against him.
According to the indictment, Thoai was assigned to investigate a criminal report against Ly Quang Duy, who was accused of using forged documents and resisting public officials. The incident occurred on 28/11/2022.
In March 2023, Tran Binh Thuan, a friend of Duy, met with Duy's wife, Tran Thi Dieu. Thuan claimed to have police connections and could "arrange" a reduced sentence for Duy and the return of his seized car. He advised Dieu to prepare around 400 million dong.
On 17/3/2023, Thuan accompanied Duy to questioning under a subpoena and obtained investigator Thoai's phone number. Thuan inquired about Duy's case. Thoai informed him that "the act of using forged documents is clear, while the act of resisting public officials will continue to be investigated". When Thuan asked about bail for Duy, Thoai outlined the necessary procedures.
The next day, Dieu gave Thuan 300 million dong, which included money from pawned gold and cash. Over the subsequent days, Thuan requested and received an additional 105 million dong from Dieu to "handle the matter", bringing the total to 405 million dong.
On 28/3/2023, Thuan met Thoai at a coffee shop near the District 5 Police headquarters. Thuan proposed that Duy be granted bail after being prosecuted for using forged documents, and not face charges for resisting public officials. Thoai claimed he lacked the authority to decide, stating he needed to consult with the prosecutor. He then outlined procedures and demanded a payment ranging from 100 to 150 million dong. They ultimately agreed on a sum of 120 million dong.
Three days later, Thoai proposed prosecuting Duy for using forged documents, applying a prohibition from leaving his residence. He stated that the charge of resisting public officials would be discussed further with the Procuracy. As Thuan failed to deliver the agreed-upon payment, Thoai repeatedly called and messaged him via Zalo over the following days. Thuan claimed he had not yet arranged the funds and promised to increase the payment to 150 million dong.
On the afternoon of 5/4/2023, instead of delivering the money as agreed, Thuan reported Thoai's actions to the Police Investigation Agency of Ho Chi Minh City, submitting relevant audio recordings as evidence.
Thoai was summoned for questioning the same day and admitted his actions. He was arrested over a month later.
On 31/5/2023, the Police Investigation Agency of District 5 added the charge of resisting public officials to Duy's case, prosecuting and temporarily detaining him for both offenses. Four months later, the People's Court of District 5 (now People's Court of Area 3) sentenced Duy to a total of 12 months in prison.
Binh Nguyen
