Former Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Van Hien was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

After 4 days of trial, on the afternoon of May 21, the first instance panel of judges of the Navy Military Court issued a verdict against the defendants in the economic case that occurred at the Navy, related to land management violations that occurred at 3 plots of land on Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

The panel of judges affirmed that the defendants’ act of leasing defense land in this case violated the law on land management. The value of the right to use the 3 plots of land was more than 939 billion VND, of which plots 7-9 were more than 525 billion VND.

Defendant Nguyen Van Hien, at the time of committing the crime, was the Commander of the Navy, so he had the highest role, but he did not fulfill his duties and responsibilities, did not check and urge his subordinates, did not check the legality, did not direct the checking of the capacity of the partners, so he signed the document to put 3 land plots into economic activities in violation of regulations. In addition, defendant Hien did not check according to the direction of the Ministry of National Defense on not contributing capital with land use rights.

Regarding civil matters, the panel affirmed that land plots No. 2 and 9-11, Ton Duc Thang Street, Ho Chi Minh City, were leased illegally, so some companies managing the land plots must return them to the Navy. Companies related to the land plots need to petition the authorities to ensure their rights. The reclaimed land plots should be negotiated by the Navy, Hai Thanh Company and related partners, or resolved through civil procedures with joint venture contracts. The panel also declared that land plot No. 7-9, Ton Duc Thang Street, Ho Chi Minh City, should be returned to the Navy. Regarding businesses related to defendant Dinh Ngoc He who are borrowing money from BIDV thanks to the mortgaged property of land plot No. 7-9, the panel affirmed that the land use rights have been revoked, so the bank and the parties should negotiate to replace the collateral or resolve the matter through civil procedures.

In August 2011, although defendant Hien established a general inspection team of the Navy, there were no measures to direct the completion of legal procedures or to terminate the illegal projects. This led to the other defendants in the case signing illegal joint venture contracts, resulting in the Navy losing the right to manage and use 3 plots of land, causing a loss of more than 939 billion VND to the State budget.

After analyzing, evaluating and individualizing the criminal behavior of each defendant as well as applying aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced: Defendant Nguyen Van Hien (former Commander of the Navy, former Deputy Minister of National Defense) to 4 years in prison for the crime of "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".

Defendant Dinh Ngoc He (aka Ut “troc”, former Deputy General Director of Thai Son Corporation, Ministry of National Defense) was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud and appropriation of property. Combined with the 12-year prison sentence in 2018, the Central Military Court sentenced him to 30 years in prison (the highest level of fixed-term imprisonment).

* For the group of defendants prosecuted for the crime of "Violating regulations on land management" the first instance panel of judgessentence:

1. Bui Nhu Thiem (born 1959, former Head of the Navy's Economic Department) 9 years in prison.
2. Bui Van Nga (born 1956, former Director of Hai Thanh Sea and Island Tourism and Services Company Limited) 8 years in prison.
3. Doan Manh Thao (born 1957, former Head of Finance Department of the Navy) 7 years in prison.
4. Tran Trong Tuan (born 1964, former Deputy Director of Hai Thanh Company) 4 years in prison.

* The remaining 2 defendants were prosecuted for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property", The jury sentenced:

1. Pham Van Diet (born in 1972, former General Director of Duc Binh Group Joint Stock Company, former Director of Yen Khanh Production, Trade and Service Company Limited) 15 years in prison.
2. Vu Thi Hoan (born 1985, former Director of Yen Khanh Company) 7 years in prison.

Before that, when the panel of judges allowed the final statement, defendant Nguyen Van Hien stated that the incident that occurred at the Navy made him very sad and realized that it was partly his fault for not performing his responsibilities closely enough. In addition, defendant Hien requested the panel of judges to consider and reduce the sentence for the defendants who were officers under his command because they did not commit the crime for personal purposes.

In turn, defendant Bui Nhu Thiem asked for a lighter sentence to allow him to receive medical treatment. “The court has not yet announced the verdict, but the verdict has been announced in public and my family has been coming to see me for more than 2 years. I am very ashamed and regretful to be one of five senior Navy officers appearing in court. Our presence affects the honor of the Navy and the Ministry of National Defense,” defendant Thiem said.

In their final statements, defendants Bui Van Nga and Doan Manh Thao also admitted their mistakes and said that they were both seriously ill and hoped the jury would be lenient. Defendants Vu Thi Hoan and Pham Van Diet also admitted their wrongdoings, but explained that they were caught up in a spiral of work under the direction of their superiors. Therefore, these two defendants asked for leniency so that they could return home soon to take care of their young children.

Defendant Tran Trong Tuan stated that since the case was initiated, he has always given honest and truthful statements without any ambiguity. He hopes the panel of judges will review the case file details and developments to judge fairly, and to find the right person for the right crime.

As from the first day of the trial, when giving his final statement, defendant Dinh Ngoc He continued to justify himself, blaming others to avoid admitting guilt. “The defendant and his lawyer have presented everything in court over the past few days, and I hope the panel of judges will consider it,” defendant He said.