Sentenced for slander, affecting the reputation and honor of others

On January 17, the People's Court of Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak Province opened the first instance trial of defendants Pham Dinh Quy (41 years old, former lecturer at Ton Duc Thang University - Ho Chi Minh City) and Hoang Minh Tuan (42 years old, residing in Cu Kuin District, Dak Lak Province) for the crime of "Slander”.

According to the verdict, Mr. Quy has known Mr. Tuan since 2007. Both of them had no conflicts with Mr. Bui Van Cuong - General Secretary, Head of the National Assembly Office (at that time, a member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee).

However, at the end of 2019, Mr. Quy called Mr. Tuan to discuss the content that Mr. Bui Van Cuong had "negative actions in personnel work in Dak Lak province" and "plagiarism and academic fraud" when doing his doctoral thesis on the topic "Research on the impact of propeller - rudder combination on ship direction control on Hai Phong route" (defended in 2018 at Vietnam Maritime University).

Defendants Quy and Tuan at trial

In addition, Mr. Quy also gave Mr. Tuan many documents related to Mr. Bui Van Cuong's thesis. When Mr. Quy asked to sign the denunciations, Mr. Tuan agreed. After that, Mr. Quy gave the denunciations against Mr. Bui Van Cuong to Mr. Tuan to sign and then sent them to the Central Organizing Committee, the Central Inspection Committee, the General Secretary, the President and many press agencies...

It is worth mentioning that Mr. Quy and Mr. Tuan clearly knew that the accusation against Mr. Bui Van Cuong about negativity in personnel work in Dak Lak province was baseless and untrue, but they still deliberately carried out this act.

After receiving the complaint, the Central Inspection Committee worked with Mr. Tuan and informed him that it had sent a document to the Central Organizing Committee for consideration and resolution. At the same time, it requested that Mr. Tuan, while waiting for the conclusion of the Central Organizing Committee, not disseminate the content of this complaint.

On July 6, 2020, Mr. Tuan called Mr. Quy to inform him of the contents of the work with the Central Inspection Committee on two official dispatches from Vietnam Maritime University and the official dispatch of the Ministry of Education and Training confirming that Mr. Bui Van Cuong's doctoral thesis was carried out in accordance with legal regulations. However, Mr. Quy and Mr. Tuan still deliberately fabricated and drafted about 200 petitions accusing Mr. Bui Van Cuong of "plagiarism" and sent them to hundreds of individuals and organizations, affecting Mr. Bui Van Cuong's reputation and honor.

At the trial, Mr. Quy and Mr. Tuan confessed honestly, repented of their crimes, and apologized to Mr. Bui Van Cuong. Based on the details and developments of the case, the panel sentenced defendant Pham Dinh Quy to 2 years and 9 months in prison; defendant Hoang Minh Tuan to 2 years and 6 months in prison, both for the crime of "Slander".