Prosecutor: '6-year prison sentence cannot be commuted to suspended sentence' for Nguyen Thi Kim Tien

The prosecutor's office acknowledged former Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has fully paid 108 billion dong and presented additional mitigating circumstances, but her 6-year prison sentence does not meet the conditions for a suspended sentence.

On the morning of 26/9, after a day of questioning, a representative of the People's Procuracy announced its view on resolving the appeals of Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and other defendants in the case involving violations at the Bach Mai and Viet Duc Hospital Phase 2 projects.

According to the People's Procuracy, the first-instance court sentenced Ms. Tien to 6 years in prison and ordered her to compensate 108 billion dong. Her son had previously paid 24 billion dong on her behalf, with the remaining amount fully paid by her family before the appellate hearing.

Ms. Tien also provided additional documents, including petitions for leniency from colleagues and medical staff, and confirmations regarding her family's revolutionary contributions. The People's Procuracy acknowledged these as new circumstances for sentence reduction. However, Article 65 of the Penal Code stipulates that individuals eligible for a suspended sentence must have a prison term not exceeding 3 years, whereas Ms. Tien is serving a 6-year sentence.

Therefore, the prosecution argued there is no basis to accept the request for a suspended sentence. Instead, it proposed that the trial panel reduce Ms. Tien's sentence by 6 to 12 months. Ms. Tien was absent from the appellate hearing as she is currently receiving treatment at Thong Nhat Hospital, TP HCM.

**574 billion dong remains unrecovered**

Besides Ms. Tien, Nguyen Doan Tu, former Deputy Head of the Medical Equipment and Works Department, Ministry of Health, also fully paid 29 billion dong as per the first-instance ruling.

Other defendants primarily submitted additional documents regarding personal achievements and petitions for leniency from agencies and organizations. They did not pay additional money or paid negligible amounts compared to their compensation obligations. At the appellate hearing, the total additional amount paid by the defendants was 146 billion dong. The People's Procuracy determined that 574 billion dong, equivalent to about 80% of the damages, remains unrecovered.

The prosecution argued that since the damages were caused by the defendants' violations, requests for exemption or reduction of compensation obligations are unfounded. However, considering new circumstances and the urgent context of implementing two key projects, the People's Procuracy proposed reducing sentences for many defendants.

The case involves the construction project for Phase 2 of Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, approved in 2014 with a total investment of nearly 10,000 billion dong. The first-instance verdict identified violations ranging from the selection of foreign design consultants, preparation of bidding documents, bidding, direct appointment of contractors, to construction, causing losses and waste exceeding 700 billion dong.

Contractors also paid 100 billion dong in "kickbacks," with Ms. Tien identified as receiving 7,5 billion dong. In addition to compensating for damages, the defendants must also return illicit gains.

The trial is ongoing.