Covid test kit research fraud initiator receives 15 years behind bars

A Hanoi court has sentenced the initiator of a Covid-19 test kit research fraud case, former senior Ministry of Science and Technology official Trinh Thanh Hung, to 15 years in prison.

His co-conspirators Viet A general director Phan Quoc Viet and former lieutenant colonel Ho Anh Son received 25 years and 12 years behind bars, respectively.

In a verdict announced by the Hanoi Capital Military Court on Friday, Viet was sentenced to 15 years in prison for abusing his positions and power while on duty, and 10 years in prison for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences.

Viet A deputy general director Vu Dinh Hiep received six years in prison for breaching bidding regulations causing serious consequences.

Son, former lieutenant colonel and former deputy director of the Military Medical and Pharmaceutical Research Institute under the Military Medical Academy, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abusing his positions and power while on duty.

Three of Son's former colleagues at the Military Medical Academy were accused of violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences.

Nguyen Van Hieu, former colonel and former head of the academy's equipment and supplies, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Ngo Anh Tuan, former major and former head of finance, received four years in prison, while Le Truong Minh, former major and former head of pharmaceutical chemistry, got a six-year sentence.

Trinh Thanh Hung, former deputy director of the department of science and technology for technical economic sectors under the Ministry of Science and Technology, was sentenced to 15 years for abusing his positions and power while on duty.

The court prohibited the defendants from holding leadership or management positions for two years after they finish their prison terms, while Phan Quoc Viet is banned from holding such positions for four years.

The Hanoi Capital Military Court assessed the defendants' behavior as "especially serious", committing crimes for profit, affecting the people's trust in the army, and causing damage to the state budget.

The court determined that Hung held the main role as the initiator in the fraud case, while defendants Viet and Son were practitioners.

The trio colluded to help Viet A Company participate in a state-funded Covid-19 test kid research project together with the Military Medical Academy. However, they used Viet A Company's own test kits to run tests and accepted the outcomes which were then illegally licensed by the Ministry of Health.

Viet A then produced test kits and earned more than VND1,200 billion ($49.44 million). Regarding the tests licensing, the Capital Military Procuracy said that on October 5, 2022, the health ministry issued an official dispatch determining that the licensing of circulation for Viet A test kits was not in line with the law. Therefore, on June 24, 2022, the ministry revoked the licensing decision.

The court ruled that the defendants must return the entire amount of illegal benefits that Viet A Company took from the state. As for the amount of money Son and Viet A disbursed during the test kit research process, a total of more than VND18 billion ($741,700), the court ordered them to reimburse the Military Medical Academy according to state regulations.

Viet A general director Phan Quoc Viet will face a second trial next Wednesday in a case related to former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.