Former Hanoi Vice Chairman Phi Thai Binh has been indicted.

The investigative agency of the Ministry of Public Security today issued a decision to prosecute Mr. Phi Thai Binh, former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinaconex, for the crime of "Violating construction regulations causing serious consequences" at the Vietnam Import-Export and Construction Corporation (Vinaconex).

The investigating agency determined that Mr. Phi Thai Binh's actions were related to the period when he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinaconex, the investor of the Da River clean water pipeline project.

Mr. Phi Thai Binh

The Da River - Hanoi clean water project, with Vinaconex as the investor, had a total investment of 1,450 billion VND. The project was completed and put into operation in 2009, but the pipeline has experienced continuous incidents during its operation.

From February 2012 to September 2015, the water pipeline burst 14 times, destroying 18 fiberglass-reinforced composite pipes and costing the operating company more than 13.4 billion VND to repair and rectify the damage.

In addition, the water supply company had to stop supplying clean water for 343 hours, with over 1.5 million cubic meters of water interrupted, affecting the lives of 177,000 households in Hanoi. The Ministry of Construction's assessment revealed that the cause of the incident was due to the poor quality of the fiberglass reinforced pipes, failing to meet design requirements and lacking the 50-year lifespan stipulated in the project…

In March 2016, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued an indictment prosecuting nine defendants involved in the repeated ruptures of the Song Da water pipeline for the crime of "violating construction regulations causing serious consequences" at the Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Corporation.

Among the nine defendants prosecuted are Mr. Hoang The Trung, former Director, and Mr. Nguyen Van Khai, former Deputy Director of the Song Da - Hanoi Water Supply System Investment and Construction Project Management Board (Project Management Board); Mr. Tran Cao Bang, former Director, and Mr. Vu Thanh Hai, former Deputy Director of Vinaconex Fiberglass Pipe Joint Stock Company; and Mr. Do Dinh Tri, former Head of the Consulting and Supervision Team of Vietnam Water and Environment Joint Stock Company - Ministry of Construction.

By May 31st, the Hanoi City People's Court had returned the case file regarding the "Violation of Construction Regulations Causing Serious Consequences" case, which resulted in 18 ruptures of the Da River water pipeline, to request clarification of the responsibilities of several individuals who were former members of the Board of Directors of Vinaconex Corporation and to obtain testimony from the civil plaintiff, a representative of Vinaconex Clean Water Joint Stock Company.

Subsequently, the leaders of the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued a directive to review the case of "not prosecuting Vinaconex leaders" related to the "violation of construction regulations causing serious consequences" that resulted in 18 ruptures of the Da River water pipeline, affecting hundreds of thousands of households...

According to VNN