Oceanbank scandal: Tears fall

Not only was the Oceanbank trial a record for the number of people summoned to court, perhaps it also set a record for the number of tears shed.

During the Oceanbank trial, the courtroom witnessed many defendants, both male and female, unable to hold back their tears. Some defendants sobbed every time they stood up to speak.

Most of them are bank officers, all have good personal backgrounds, and could not have imagined that one day they would have to stand before the bar as defendants.

During the presentation, the defendants stood up and asked for leniency not only for themselves, but also for the other defendants. While this defendant cried while presenting, the other defendants below, even the female lawyer, were also sobbing.

Defendant Hoang Thi Hong Tu cried while presenting. Photo: Minh Quang

Defendant Nguyen Minh Thu (former General Director of Oceanbank) stated: "I hope the panel of judges will consider leniency for my colleagues here, give them the opportunity to contribute their experiences, and give them the opportunity to take care of their families."

In his tearful presentation, defendant Pham Hoang Giang (former CEO of BSC) said that his situation is extremely difficult as his child has heart disease and eye disease. With the sentence proposed by the prosecutor, this defendant is afraid that he will not have the opportunity to help his child keep his eyesight.

On the morning of September 23, the defense attorney for defendant Pham Hoang Giang said that after his client presented the difficulties he was facing, many other defendants, although anxious about their fates, were still willing to contribute money to treat defendant Giang's child.

This act of kindness moved defendant Giang's lawyer.

Defendants in the Oceanbank case

Lawyer Nguyen Dinh Hung, one of the three lawyers defending the legal rights and interests of Dai Duong Commercial Bank, also asked the panel of judges to thoroughly consider mitigating circumstances for the defendants, and consider their motives, purposes, conditions, and circumstances when committing the crime.

"I was very moved by the image of the defendants talking about their pain. Some of them stood up but couldn't even speak. They were also in a lot of pain," said lawyer Hung.

Before presenting the issues related to his client, Ninh Van Quynh's lawyer also had a few words: The court was moved when the defendants presented, the other defendants sat below crying, and the female lawyer cried. The defendants committed the acts, but were not aware of the harmful effects their acts had on society. I hope the panel of judges will consider them.

Many tears were shed, heartfelt words were expressed, and on September 22, in its response, the People's Procuracy made many changes in its proposed punishment for the defendants.

After considering and reviewing the arguments of the lawyers, the representative of the People's Procuracy had some additional and changed opinions and proposed to apply additional mitigating circumstances, proposing to reduce the sentences for many defendants. The People's Procuracy even proposed to exempt 4 defendants from punishment.

But the prosecutor also gave a counter-argument that: One thing is certain, the labor contract does not require the defendants to comply with the instructions of their superiors, if that is a violation. The defendants working in the banking sector must have known that spending thousands of billions of dong without documents is against the regulations.

According to Vietnamnet