Former Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang at the instance trial. (Photo: VNA)Hoang and three other defendants appealed against the first-instance sentences, asking for reduced punishiment.
Earlier, at the instance trial, the court sentenced Hoang to11 years’ imprisonment for “violating regulations on the management and use ofState assets, causing losses and wastefulness”.
Also on the same charge, Phan Chi Dung, former Director ofthe Light Industry Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), gotnine years in jail under Article 219 of the 2015 Penal Code’s Clause 3.
In line with Article 229 of the 2015 Penal Code’s Clause,eight other accomplices of Hoang, who are former Ho Chi Minh City officials,were sentenced to between 30 months and 7 years in prison for “violatingregulations on land management.”. Three of them have already been convicted inother cases for “violating regulations on the management and use of Stateassets, causing losses and wastefulness”, thus their aggregate jail termsadding to from six to 14 years.
Appealing after the first instance hearing, Hoang and threeother defendants requested the appeal court to consider mitigating theirsentences.
According to the indictment from the Supreme People’sProcuracy, the Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage JSC (Sabeco), which is underthe MoIT’s management, was given more than 6,000 sq.m of land at the No. 2-4-6on Hai Ba Trung street in downtown HCM City for production and businesspurposes.
However, Hoang, Dung, and former Deputy Minister of the MoITHo Thi Kim Thoa, who has fled, directed subordinates at the ministry and Sabecoto carry out procedures for using land use rights and Sabeco's money as capitalcontributions to set up Sabeco Pearl, a joint venture between the firm and anumber of private enterprises, to implement a project building a hotel, a tradeand convention centre, and office space for lease on the land.
After Sabeco completed legal procedures for the jointventure’s investment and proposed the HCM City People’s Committee approve theaddition of officetel and housing functions to this project, the MoIT orderedthe company to divest its entire stake in this project.
This was illegal and resulted in the loss of over 2.7trillion VND to the State.
However, the appeal trial was later cancelled as several defendants and parties with related obligations and interests were absent. Hoang was receiving treatment at hospital and not able to attend the trial. Another defendant was absent because he was being in medical quarantine./.
VNA
