Two former provincial governors stand trial in land management-related case.
Mr. Nguyen Chien Thang and Mr. Le Duc Vinh (both former Chairmen of Khanh Hoa province), along with 5 former leaders of departments and agencies, were brought to trial on the morning of April 4th on charges of illegally allocating land to businesses for projects, "destroying" the Nine Bends Mountain.
According to a decision by the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Court, today, Nguyen Chien Thang (67 years old) and Le Duc Vinh (57 years old) - both former Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee - are being brought to trial for their crimes.Violations of land management regulations.According to Clause 3, Article 229 of the Penal Code.
 |
| Mr. Nguyen Chien Thang (left) and Mr. Le Duc Vinh (right), former Chairmen of Khanh Hoa province, appear in court. |
Five other defendants were also brought to trial on the same charges, including Mr. Dao Cong Thien (former Vice Chairman of the province); Vo Tan Thai and Le Mong Diep (both former Directors of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment); Le Van De (former Director of the Department of Construction); and Tran Van Hung (former official of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment).
Seventeen lawyers are defending the defendants. Of these, two are defending Mr. Thang; Mr. Vinh has four defense lawyers.
Due to the complex and serious nature of the case, involving multiple generations of provincial leaders, the trial panel consists of five members: two judges, three lay judges, and several additional alternate judges, clerks, lay judges, and prosecutors.
According to the indictment, during the period 2012-2015, former provincial leaders signed numerous documents that violated regulations regarding the allocation and leasing of land, and the approval of land prices for Khanh Hoa Production and Construction Co., Ltd. (Khanh Hoa Company) to implement the Vinh Trung River and Mountain Villas project and the Cuu Long Son Tu spiritual ecological project, located in the Chin Khuc mountain area.
 |
| A section of the Nine Bends Mountain where the company is carrying out the project. |
At the Cuu Long Son Tu Spiritual Ecological Project, covering over 513 hectares on Chin Khuc Mountain, Mr. Thang is accused of signing documents directing the policy and making decisions to illegally allocate land to businesses. Mr. Dao Cong Thien, Le Mong Diep, Vo Tan Thai, and Tran Van Hung advised on and signed related documents. These individuals violated regulations under the Land Law and related documents.
Regarding the Vinh Trung Riverfront Villas project on Chin Khuc Mountain, covering 19 hectares, the Khanh Hoa Company is also the investor. In August 2012, Mr. Le Duc Vinh, then Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, signed a decision allowing the enterprise to change the land use purpose of 196,194 m2 from production forest land to residential and public land for the project.
Mr. Vinh signed land allocation decisions that violated land management laws, allocating land without determining the land use fee, allocating land on-site before the investor fulfilled their financial obligations; and allocating land and changing land use purposes in violation of land use planning and plans. Mr. Le Mong Diep and Mr. Le Van De also violated regulations when advising the province. Subsequently, the enterprise cut down trees, leveled the land, and carried out the project, destroying the Nine Bends mountain.
By 2019, the project was halted, and the investor was forced to replant trees and address the cleared areas. Khanh Hoa Company subsequently returned 370 hectares of land designated for forest regeneration and environmental restoration.
Regarding the irregularities at Chín Khúc Mountain, in mid-2021, two former provincial chairmen and five former leaders were prosecuted and detained.
