Former chairman of Lao Cai province expelled from Communist Party

Doan Van Huong, former deputy secretary of Lao Cai's Party Committee and former chairman of the northern province, has been removed from the Communist Party for causing a great loss of state money and property.

At a meeting on Monday, the Party Central Committee's Secretariat also expelled three other former officials of Lao Cai, namely Nguyen Thanh Duong, former vice chairman of the mountainous province; Le Ngoc Hung, former vice chairman of the province and former director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade; and Mai Dinh Dinh, former secretary of Lao Cai's Party Committee and former director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The Politburo, the Communist Party's premier decision-making body, also proposed the Party Central Committee consider taking disciplinary action against Nguyen Van Vinh, former Party Central Committee member, former secretary of Lao Cai's Party Committee, and former chairman of the province.

The Politburo and the Secretariat determined that Vinh, Doan Van Huong, Nguyen Thanh Duong, Le Ngoc Hung, and Mai Dinh Dinh had degraded in terms of political ideology, morality and lifestyle; violated the Party's regulations and the State's laws while on duty.

These five men were also found to have violated the regulations on Party members' code of conduct and responsibility to set a good example; lacked responsibility; showed loose leadership and direction; lacked inspection and supervision. As a result, many Party organizations and members committed violations and were handled as criminals.

The above violations have caused "very serious consequences that are difficult to remedy" and "led to great losses of state money and property, causing frustration in society and adversely affecting the reputation of Party organizations and the local administration."

On the same day, Le Van Ky, deputy director of Son La province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, was arrested for allegedly issuing land use right certificates for wrong purposes.

Ky has been investigated for wrongdoings committed when he was chairman of the Bac Yen district People's Committee.

According to initial investigations, in 2017, Ky abused of his position to direct two officials to build dossiers to issue land use right certificates to his acquaintances at the Dong Tam Hotel area and Tuan Trung gasoline station in Bac Yen township.

The investigative agency alleged that these land lots had been converted from commercial service land with 70-year use term to long-term residential land, which is illegal. This practice is prohibited under the 2013 Land Law, causing damage to the state budget.