Postponement of trial in illegal logging of Po Mu timber: Request for additional investigation

(Baonghean) - Before the Decision to prosecute by the People's Procuracy of Que Phong district, on March 7, 2016, the People's Court of Que Phong district held a trial for the defendants Lo Van Du, Bui Van Thanh, Sam Van Thang, Sam Van Quynh, Sam Van Chung, Luong Van Tien and Sam Van Tung. However, some new details appeared, so the Trial Panel decided to postpone and requested the People's Procuracy of Que Phong to conduct additional investigation.

According to a private source of Nghe An Newspaper, the trial was attended by representatives of the People's Court, the Provincial People's Procuracy and Quy Chau and Quy Hop districts.

The trial was attended by the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Provincial People's Procuracy and the Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court.

After the representative of the Que Phong District People's Procuracy read the indictment, the Trial Panel interrogated each defendant. And, some defendants gave statements that contradicted the investigation information stated in the indictment. That is, defendant Bui Van Thanh confessed that he knew Ho Viet Hoa, and was given Lo Van Du's phone number by him to contact him to buy and sell wood.

Previously, at the investigation agency, Thanh admitted that he did not know Mr. Hoa. The defendants Lo Van Du and Sam Van Chung admitted in court that the two did not discuss or promise anything about logging; and the investigation agency did not read the transcript of their statements to them. At the investigation agency, the statements of the defendants Lo Van Du, Bui Van Thanh and Mr. Ho Viet Hoa were in conflict, but the investigation agency did not allow them to confront each other... Therefore, the Trial Panel decided to postpone the trial for further investigation.

The trial of the subjects illegally exploiting Po Mu wood in Pu Huong Nature Reserve has attracted quite a lot of attention.

The People's Court of Que Phong district has decided to return the case file to the People's Procuracy of Que Phong for further investigation of the following issues: To clarify the acts of complicity between the defendant Lo Van Du, the defendant Sam Van Chung and the defendants Bui Van Thanh and Sam Van Thang. Was there any omission of the crime against Mr. Ho Viet Hoa?

"The Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court and the Deputy Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Procuracy later agreed that postponing the trial for further investigation was necessary because the case file lacked important evidence that could not be supplemented at the trial," the source confirmed.

PV Group