Former Binh Thuan province chairman sentenced to 5 years in prison

Former chairman of Binh Thuan province Nguyen Ngoc Hai received five years in prison on Wednesday for allocating public land to a company at reduced prices, causing losses of VND45 billion ($1.9 million) to the state budget.

Hai, 61, was sentenced by the court in Hanoi for the crime of violating regulations on the management and use of state assets, causing loss and waste.

For the same charge, 10 other former leaders of Binh Thuan province received from 18- month suspended sentences to five years in prison.

Nguyen Van Phong, former vice chairman of Binh Thuan, was sentenced to two years in prison for acts of irresponsibility that had serious consequences.

The court also ordered Tan Viet Phat Joint Stock Company to return VND45.3 billion ($1.93 million) in illicit gains to the provincial People's Committee.

According to the trial panel, the defendants' acts violated the state's property management regime, causing great damage and negative public opinion.

"The case is a lesson for officials about a lack of devotion to their work, a lack of fighting spirit, and a lack of eagerness to improve their professional qualifications," the judgment stated.

In particular, Hai trusted the advice of lower-level officials, and signed a document directing the allocation of land to Tan Viet Phat Company. As chairman of the province, the defendant carries the highest responsibility in the case, it noted.

The remaining defendants had broken the law because they wanted to quickly allocate land and increase budget revenue, but not for their own gain. The court considered this as a factor for sentence mitigation.

The judgment determined that in 2013, Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee advocated auctioning three plots of more than 92,000 m2 in total in Phu Hai ward, Phan Thiet town, with a starting price of more than VND111 billion (VND1.2 million per square meter) to build a commercial housing project.

After multiple auctions where no bids were placed, in early 2017, Tan Viet Phat JSC sent an official letter to the People's Committee asking for the allocation of the land without an auction.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment advised the People's Committee that the initial starting price in 2013 should be VND1.2 million per m2, and the department agreed.

In February 2017, the People's Committee agreed to allocate the land to Tan Viet Phat for VND111 billion. The company paid a land use levy, land rent, and was allocated the land to implement the project. The defendants' actions caused a State budget loss of VND45.3 billion ($1.93 million).

The 12 defendants said that the location of the land was not ideal as it was home to many graves which made it hard to sell. Their mistakes stemmed from their eagerness to collect money for the budget and for local development, they claimed.