On the afternoon of 11/9, defendant Nguyen Thi Binh collapsed after hearing the Hanoi People's Procuracy's rebuttal regarding the case of abusing position and power while on duty. This case occurred a decade ago at Ba Dinh secondary school during her tenure as principal.

Accordingly, the Hanoi People's Procuracy representative assessed that even if the defendant collected money correctly, spending it incorrectly still constitutes a legal violation.

The Procuracy stated that the first-instance verdict only mentioned "overspending", while the appellate procuracy reviewed and calculated based on the total 30% of revenue allocated to the school. Furthermore, the expenditures also showed signs of being misused and lacking oversight.

The Procuracy cited evidence, noting that, according to regulations, 15% allocated for facilities should only be used for extra classes. However, the defendant failed to control spending, leading to expenditures that violated regulations and were not for their intended purpose, such as purchasing offerings for incense burning and wreaths.

For these reasons, the Procuracy maintained its recommendation to annul the first-instance verdict for reinvestigation.

Throughout the debate this morning, Ms. Binh sat alone on a long bench behind the defendant's stand, surrounded by four tall stacks of papers and documents, constantly searching and taking notes. Before the Procuracy's stance, she asked the trial panel for permission to speak, claiming that the Procuracy's representative was biased and unfair, making it "unbearable" for her. She presented many points and spoke loudly, prompting the court to ask her to calm down and stop speaking.

Ms. Binh then collapsed and was helped up by lawyers and people in the courtroom. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the Hanoi People's Court headquarters. The defendant was escorted out of the courtroom by relatives.

The trial was adjourned.

Ms. Binh was escorted out of the courtroom by lawyers and relatives on the afternoon of 11/9. *Photo: Thanh Lam*

Hanoi Department of Education and Training and People's Committee's stance unclear

Ms. Binh was accused of collecting extra tuition fees exceeding the cap set by Hanoi People's Committee's Decision 22/2013.

However, after the first-instance trial, the Department of Legal Document Review and Enforcement, Ministry of Justice, issued a document stating that Hanoi's Decision 22 imposing a "ceiling price" on tuition fees was inappropriate. The Hanoi Department of Education and Training's issuance of a guiding document to apply maximum collection levels was "improper in form and authority".

One day after this conclusion by the Ministry of Justice, the Hanoi People's Committee repealed Decision 22/2013 in its entirety.

Yesterday, lawyer Tran Hong Phuc questioned the "absolute legal validity" of the conclusion presented by the Department of Legal Document Review and Enforcement.

The Department's representative, present as summoned, reaffirmed this view. However, representatives from the Hanoi Department of Education and Training and the Hanoi People's Committee disagreed.

"In the morning, I asked, and this individual affirmed that Decision 22 was lawfully issued by the Hanoi People's Committee and remained valid and effective at the time of the first-instance trial and the appellate trial. But in the afternoon, when my colleague asked, he immediately changed his stance, responding that he needed to reconvene and seek input from the Hanoi People's Committee – the issuing authority", lawyer Phuc stated, opposing what she considered this "ambiguous" stance.

The lawyer argued that the Department's conclusion inherently holds legal value, and Hanoi must enforce it, rather than "reconvening to discuss and provide feedback to the court". The Procuracy's request to await the Hanoi People's Committee's opinion also lacks legal basis, as Decree 79/202 mandates that management agencies "must direct the handling of unlawful documents immediately upon receiving inspection conclusions from the Ministry of Justice".

According to Ms. Phuc, because Hanoi's Decision 22 was "invalid from its inception", all grounds for prosecuting the defendants for misconduct or causing property damage "have completely collapsed". The lawyer therefore requested the court to annul the first-instance verdict and declare the defendant not guilty.

During the debate this morning, some lawyers defending defendant Binh also argued that the method of calculating damages and the amount of damages in the case were unclear, and no one claimed to have suffered damages.

A parent representative stated their awareness and agreement with the collection level, expressing hope that the trial panel would declare the former principal not guilty.

Mr. Vu Dinh Lam, Ba Dinh secondary school's Parent Association Head for the 2013-2014 school year, presented his views after the morning session. *Photo: Thanh Lam*

This afternoon, the trial continued with a second rebuttal session.

By Thanh Lam