This lesson applies to everyone!

(Baonghean) - The case of 19 individuals in Nghi Loc district who falsely claimed their parents were deceased to receive a one-time survivor's benefit is causing public outrage. Although all 19 violators have extremely difficult circumstances, this should not lead to reckless violations of the law and a guilty conscience. This serves as a cautionary tale for families, social insurance officials, employers, and local authorities.

Pitiable and blameworthy

While the incident involving Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao, currently the Vice President of the Women's Association of Nghi Trung commune, falsely claiming her parents-in-law, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phac and Ms. Vo Thi Moi, were deceased, causing a stir in the area, the couple's house in Hamlet 15, Nghi Trung commune, remained quiet. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phac enthusiastically welcomed guests and happily recounted that they had six children (three sons and three daughters). Of their three sons, two had passed away: one was martyr Nguyen Xuan Hoa (for whom they currently receive a martyr's allowance of 1.2 million VND per person per month). The other was Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nong, who died in early 2010 from stomach cancer. When asked if they knew that three years before Mr. Nong's death, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao – his wife – had filed a survivor's benefit claim, including declaring her parents-in-law deceased, with the intention of receiving a one-time survivor's allowance, they did not answer directly. Mr. Nong immediately said, "I have absolutely no idea. Hao never told me, and I don't know how much money she and her children received." "So, do you blame her?" I asked. He pondered for a moment before replying, "No, we don't blame her at all. Her husband died young, and raising two children alone has been very difficult. Now we have a war veteran's pension, so we don't ask for much. Once a month, our daughter-in-law comes to eat with us a few times, buys us some rice cakes, steamed rice rolls, and a few hundred grams of meat, and that's enough to comfort us."

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nong, a former machine operator and the main breadwinner of Ms. Hao's family, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. After nearly two years battling the disease, the family spent all their savings on treatment. His death was a great loss for the family, especially since their two sons had finished high school but were unemployed. The long treatment process also caused significant financial hardship for the family. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao, his wife, was desperate and took a desperate gamble. Mr. Phan The Hung, the chairman of Nghi Trung commune, despite knowing the family's dire situation (as they worked at the same office), signed the family's financial declaration form. At least two pieces of information in the form were inaccurate: firstly, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nong's parents, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phac and Ms. Nguyen Thi Moi, were declared deceased even though they were still alive. Secondly, Nguyen Thi Hao's mother, a stay-at-home housewife with no income, should have been the sole recipient of the monthly allowance, but the application listed her as a retiree.

Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Xuan Phac and Vo Thi Moi are alive but have been declared deceased.

Sharing a similar plight is the family of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phuc in Nghi Thach commune, a former Red Cross official in Nghi Loc district. Tragedy struck when he was diagnosed with rare skin cancer, a disease that required his family to take him to 11 hospitals without success. Knowing he wouldn't survive, before his death, he held a family meeting, asking permission from both sets of parents to declare his mother and mother-in-law deceased, with the aim of alleviating some of the debt his wife and he had incurred over the past three years for his treatment. His wish was granted, and with over 30 years of insurance contributions, including many years as a leader, his wife and children received a one-time survivor's benefit totaling 165,000,000 VND. The person who "encouraged" this action by the family was Mr. Dang Ba Huong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghi Thach commune.

Meeting me after the family had voluntarily returned nearly 100 million VND to the Social Insurance agency, Mrs. Mai Thi Tuong (Mr. Phuc's wife) couldn't hide her sorrow. She explained her circumstances at the time: her husband had died young, her eldest son, who had just graduated from university, had unfortunately been in an accident, suffering a concussion and abnormal neurological sequelae, and her mother-in-law was heartbroken by the family's situation and was also in a life-threatening condition. So she did what her family told her to do. She felt guilty towards both sets of parents and ashamed in front of her neighbors, but this was her husband's last wish, and since it was approved by the family, she "closed her eyes and took a leap of faith." That money helped cover some of the debts, pay for her son's medical treatment, and also helped her rebuild the shop she had to sell while taking her husband for treatment.

Causes and lessons learned

According to the conclusions of an inspection by the Nghe An Provincial Social Insurance agency, in December 2013 alone, out of 40 death benefit payment files at the Nghi Loc District Social Insurance agency, 19 files were found to have improperly processed one-time death benefit payments totaling over 1.6 billion VND. Among these, in addition to 17 cases involving false declarations or false claims of deceased parents, two cases involved Mr. Nguyen Trung Thuc and Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, where the information on the family member's declaration form was truthful, reflecting that there were eligible relatives entitled to monthly death benefits but were still granted one-time death benefits. This is a serious violation, not only breaching the Social Insurance Law but also going against the ethics and traditional culture of the nation.

Regarding this violation, the primary responsibility lies partly with the Social Insurance officials, specifically those responsible for receiving and verifying the files. These are Mr. Hoang Anh Son and Mr. Nguyen The Hung, officials of the Nghi Loc District Social Insurance Office. Also implicated are Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, a specialist in the File Reception and Management Department, and Ms. Ta Thi Thu Thuy, a specialist in the Social Insurance Benefits Department of the Provincial Social Insurance Office. Mr. Nguyen Van Kien, Director of the Nghi Loc District Social Insurance Office, also acknowledged that the leadership of the district's Social Insurance Office bears responsibility for the lack of thorough supervision and guidance of staff during the file verification process. They were also negligent in trusting confirmations from local authorities.

Furthermore, local authorities in the communes were negligent in signing false confirmation documents, including three communes that issued copies of death certificates improperly (issuing copies of death certificates to living people): the People's Committee of Duc Lap commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province; the People's Committee of Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town; and the People's Committee of Nghi An commune, Vinh city. In addition, the communes of Hop Thanh (Yen Thanh), Nghi Huong (Cua Lo town), Nghi Trung, Nghi Khanh, Nghi Thinh, Nghi Long, Quan Hanh town, and Nghi Thach (Nghi Loc district) all had chairmen or vice-chairmen who falsely confirmed information on the declarations of families.

Besides negligence, lack of oversight, and lax signing and verification, public opinion also questions whether or not there is corruption involved in this matter. From an overall perspective, both the commune leaders and social insurance officials clearly see the main purpose behind families filing applications for survivor benefits for their relatives. After the signing, are there any vested interests on the part of those verifying and receiving the applications? Is there deliberate wrongdoing, with direction, guidance, and the legitimization of documents within the implementation process?

Currently, the two officials involved from the Nghi Loc Social Insurance agency have been temporarily suspended from their duties. The recovery of the incorrectly disbursed funds is also being carried out by the Nghi Loc district Social Insurance agency. According to reports as of the afternoon of April 17th, eight households have voluntarily repaid 432 million VND. The projected recovery from the remaining 19 cases by April 30th is 1,110,409,000 VND (cases with beneficiaries receiving monthly survivor benefits will have the amount gradually deducted from the incorrectly disbursed funds).

Speaking with us, Mr. Phan Sy Duong, Secretary of the Nghi Loc District Party Committee, affirmed: This is a regrettable violation of the law. Therefore, the district will strictly handle the matter. Currently, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee has assigned the Inspection Committee to investigate and has reached a conclusion. In the communes, relevant units have also conducted reviews of the individuals involved. However, because the case is still under investigation, we will wait for the conclusion of the investigation before deciding on the final disciplinary action.

My Ha