Former police lieutenant colonel sentenced to 5 years in prison for abuse of power

Mr. Nguyen Tuyen Dung, former investigator of the Nam Cam case, was accused of intervening in a civil dispute, embezzling more than 5.2 billion VND and depositing it in the bank to earn interest.

On May 9, the People's Court of Tien Giang province held the third first-instance trial and sentenced Nguyen Tuyen Dung (44 years old, former lieutenant colonel, senior investigator of the Investigation Police Department of Tien Giang Province Police) to 5 years.imprisoned for crimeAbuse of power while on duty.

According to the indictment, in 2002, Dung and Mr. Nguyen Van Nen (former Deputy Head of the Investigation Police Department of Tien Giang Police) were transferred by the Ministry of Public Security to Ho Chi Minh City to participate in the investigation of the Nam Cam case.

After the investigation ended, Dung and Nen were assigned to investigate the case of disturbing public order that occurred at Binh Duong Gas Company, invested by Hung Thinh Joint Stock Company.

Former investigator of the Nam Cam case was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Photo: Hoang Nam.

In April 2003, Mr. Nen signed an arrest warrant for Mr. Bui Manh Lan - Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Hung Thinh Joint Stock Company - for disturbing public order.

At that time, Hung Thinh Company and Ms. Huynh Thi Thu (in Ho Chi Minh City) were in a dispute over the right to use more than 23,000 square meters of land and the lawsuit was being handled by the People's Court of Di An District, Binh Duong. However, taking advantage of being assigned to investigate the case, Mr. Nen and Dung took it upon themselves to resolve this dispute.

Mr. Lan was being detained but was still extracted from the detention center by these two investigators to meet with Ms. Thu and her husband to voluntarily negotiate a settlement of the dispute.Mr. Lan agreed to return the land use rights to Mrs. Thu and her husband. Mrs. Thu and her husband must return Mr. Lan 5.25 billion VND.

However, according to the accusation, the two investigators did not return this money to Hung Thinh Company, but arbitrarily deposited it in the bank to earn interest, illegally profiting over 1.2 billion VND.

During the investigation, Mr. Nen showed signs of schizophrenia, so the court decided to temporarily suspend the case and apply compulsory treatment measures.

In court, Mr. Dung repeatedly pleaded his innocence, claiming that he worked under the direction of his superiors, that the savings were from an acquaintance who asked him to buy a house, and that the money related to the case had been sealed and deposited in the evidence room and that he had not used it himself.

However, the panel rejected this argument and affirmed that there was sufficient evidence to prove the defendant's actions, so the above sentence was imposed.

Previously, in July 2014, the People's Court of Tien Giang Province held a first-instance trial and sentenced Mr. Dung to 10 years in prison for the crime of Abuse of Power while performing official duties. This sentence was later annulled by the Supreme People's Court of Appeal in Ho Chi Minh City for reinvestigation.

At the second trial in September 2016, Mr. Dung's defense attorney presented documents confirming that Mr. Dung's actions were approved by superiors, so the Tien Giang Provincial People's Court returned the case file for verification and clarification.

According to VNE