Mr. Truong Minh Tuan: 'Accepting bribes is a shame'
On the afternoon of December 21, former Minister Truong Minh Tuan apologized to the people, admitting that his actions had affected officials and civil servants in the Information and Communications sector.
At the Hanoi People's Court, without holding any documents, presenting for 15 minutes, Mr. Tuan said that these were "the most bitter excuses for the most tragic event in his life".
Mr. Tuan admitted to violating the law, but he still wanted to defend himself to clarify, not to blame others. "I defend myself based on my conscience. This trial may end, but the court of conscience will follow us forever. That is the most painful thing I will carry with me all my life."
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Former Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan. Photo:VNA |
Mr. Tuan said that he had just transferred to the Ministry of Information and Communications since the beginning of 2014 - a completely new and difficult field. The violations that occurred were beyond his expectations, especially the signing of Decision 236/QD-BTTTT dated December 21, 2015 approving MobiFone's television service investment project.
Through the days of questioning, he also became more aware of the dark corners of the case that he had not noticed when he was in office. MobiFone's purchase of AVG was wrong in many stages, at different times, from top to bottom, and most importantly, wrong in the purchase price and the order of project implementation.
He said he was the one who proposed assigning Pham Dinh Trong (Director of Enterprise Management Department) to encourage former AVG Chairman Pham Nhat Vu to cancel the contract. From there, the State's money would be recovered in the best way, minimizing the consequences.
He understood that accepting bribes in any form, under any circumstances, at any time, whether gifts or money, was a crime. Therefore, being convictedAccept bribesis "very shameful" and "is a disgrace".
The prosecutor proposed a sentence of 8 to 9 years in prison for the crime.Accept bribes,he thinksis also at a low level but I hope the panel of judges will continue to consider reducing the sentence.
Defending Mr. Tuan, lawyer Vu Quy said that his client was passive and only followed instructions from his superiors. The tasks assigned to Mr. Tuan in this project were of little importance, not decisive, and "disjointed".
Furthermore, Mr. Tuan signed Decision 236 and other documents related to the project, always in a passive situation, forced to implement with the mindset of "thinking his fate is as weak as a dragonfly's wings".
After the defense of three lawyers, Mr. Tuan said that he admitted to violating the law and asked the panel of judges to consider it in the future application of the law to avoid overlap and misunderstanding. He hoped to be forgiven so that he could soon return to contribute and remedy the consequences.
