Two former directors of Vietnam Register sentenced to 25 and 19 years in prison

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Friday sentenced two former heads of Vietnam Register to 25 and 19 years in prison for accepting bribes and ignoring violations in vehicle registration, causing serious consequences.

Tran Ky Hinh, director of Vietnam Register from January 2014 to July 2021, received 19 years behind bars for accepting bribes and six years for abusing positions and power while on duty. The total for him is 25 years in prison.

Dang Viet Ha, Hinh’s successor, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for receiving bribes.

The remaining 252 defendants in the case received from a one-year suspended sentence to 30 years in prison.

Previously, Ho Chi Minh City Police had discovered two cars with signs of expanding their trunks not in line with standards.

Inspection results showed that the vehicles’ trunk dimensions matched their registration certificates, but they were different from their technical specifications recorded in the database of Vietnam Register. The case was then transferred to the investigative agency for verification.

From this sign of crime, the HCMC Police’s investigative agency conducted an investigation and identified organized criminal acts at Vietnam Registry and motor vehicle registration centers in HCMC and localities across the country.

Investigators determined that Tran Ky Hinh and Dang Viet Ha must bear the highest responsibility for not properly performing their assigned tasks.

Dang Viet Ha was lax in management and lacked supervision and inspection, leading to Vietnam Register and vehicle registration departments/centers across the country committing systematic violations for a long time.

Knowing the violations, Ha did not remedy the situation, but for personal gains, he continued to issue rules and direct lower-level officials and registration centers to accept bribes. The money was divided to ensure Ha benefited the most.

The jury determined that Ha was responsible for the total bribe of more than VND40 billion ($1.6 million) and the sum he agained of over VND8 billion.

Tran Ky Hinh was found to have committed similar violations, causing particularly serious consequences.

For personal gains, Hinh received a total of more than VND7.5 billion for ignoring violations in granting licenses to registration centers and violations in vehicle inspection.