Defendants at the court on March 15 (Photo: VNA)The seven are among 12 defendants in the case involvingviolations of regulations on investment in construction works, causing seriousconsequences, at the ethanol plant in the northern province of Phu Tho. Theywere brought to trial by the municipal People’s Court from March 8-15.
The defendants lodging appeals are former Chairmanof the Board of Directors and former General Director of the PetroVietnamConstruction JSC (PVC) Trinh Xuan Thanh, former General Director of the PetroVietnam PetroChemicalsand Biofuel JSC (PVB) Vu Thanh Ha, former General Director of the PetroVietnamConstruction JSC (PVC) Pham Xuan Dieu, former deputy head of PVB’s investmentoffice Nguyen Xuan Thuy, former deputy head of PVB’s commercial office KhuongAnh Tuan, former head of PVB’s business office Le Thanh Thai, and former chiefaccountant at PVB Hoang Dinh Tam.
Thanh asked the court to throw out the entireverdict, while the six others asked for an exemption from civil responsibility.
Ha, Dieu, and Thuy also asked for reduced punishmenton the charge of “violating regulations on investment in construction works,causing serious consequences”. Thai, meanwhile, hoped to receive a suspendedsentence.
They asked the court to consider the situation whenthe violations took place and that they were not fully aware of theirwrongdoings.
The Mai Phuong Company also filed an appeal, askingthe court to return 3,400 sq m of land in Vinh Phuc province’s Tam Dao districtto the company, instead of giving it to PVC.
Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of theVietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) Dinh La Thang, who, the courtsaid, must shoulder the main responsibility in selecting the contractor for theproject, did not file an appeal.
During the first instance trial last month, thePeople’s Court handed down a jail term of 11 years to Thang for “violatingregulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences”in line with Article 224, Clause 3 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Combined with sentences given to him in previouscases, Thang will spend a total of 30 years in prison.
On the same charge, Ha was given a jail term of sixand a half years. Binh received a 36-month suspended sentence. Dieu will spendthree and a half years behind bars, while former Deputy General Director of PVCNguyen Ngoc Dung was sentenced to three years in prison.
Jail terms ranging from 24 to 30 months were handeddown to the other defendants on the same charge.
Thanh was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “violatingregulations on investment in construction works, causing serious consequences”,and eight years behind bars for “abusing position and power while performingduties”. Taking into account his previous sentences, he faces lifeimprisonment.
Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Directorof the Kinh Bac Petroleum Construction and Investment JSC Do Van Hong was givena jail sentence of four years for “abusing position and power while performingduties”. Combined with sentences given earlier, he must serve a jail term of 17years.
According to the indictment, Thang signed aresolution to approve investment in the project in October 2007. On his instruction,the PVC/Alfa Laval/Delta-T joint contractors, who had no previous experience incarrying out ethanol projects, were appointed to implement the project.
As a result, the project was continuously behindschedule and ceased in March 2013 with no construction items done.
The wrongdoings of the defendants were said to causelosses of more than 543 billion VND (23.49 million USD).
Thanh confessed that when signing the contract for theimplementation of the project with funding of 59 million USD, he was aware thatthe amount was not enough to cover implementation.
The judge stated that Thang must take the main responsibilityin selecting the contractor.
Such wrongdoings in contractor selection haveresulted in the suspension of the project, with no items completed so far,according to the judge./.
VNA
