Stories of retired people "suddenly becoming... millionaires"

Recently, a phenomenon of "suddenly becoming very rich" has emerged. This involves some officials who, after many years of service, have declared assets that are pitifully meager, prompting National Assembly representative Duong Trung Quoc to bitterly exclaim: "Reading their asset declarations, I feel so sorry for our officials. Everyone is poor, living in state-provided housing, earning meager salaries… If officials are so poor, how can the people become rich?!"

(Illustration: Ngoc Diep)

Just when everyone thought the story of former Inspector General of the Government Tran Van Truyen and his enormous wealth after retirement had caused a sensation, now public opinion is buzzing about two other individuals who, despite holding lower positions, are likely to possess equally substantial assets. These are Mr. Hoang Sy Binh, former Director of the Thanh Hoa Department of Health, and Mr. Tran Khieu, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Vinh Province.

According to Dan Viet newspaper, citing Thanh Tra newspaper, the article...""Just after 'landing' in office, the enormous assets of former Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Health Hoang Sy Binh have been revealed," it was reported that Mr. and Mrs. Binh currently own and hold a massive amount of real estate assets.

Recently, Mr. Binh broke ground on a massive villa in a prime location with three street frontages. According to locals, the land alone is worth nearly 10 billion VND, and the construction and interior decoration costs are also around 10 billion VND.

In a very subtle way, the article also includes the following passage: "Why, at the end of his term, when he 'landed,' was Mr. Binh's numerous real estate properties exposed? Where did this money come from? Was there any corruption involved in Mr. Binh's approval of the recruitment of 3,721 people without reporting to the Provincial Chairman and the appointment of numerous officials in violation of regulations?"...

To put it softly, if we follow Mr. Tran Trong Duc's "valuation" when he was Chairman of the Hanoi City Inspection Committee, which stated that "civil servants earn hundreds of millions of dong (public opinion even says that's too little)", then how many billions of dong would 3,721 people be worth?

Secondly, in the article "Former Provincial Chairman Opens 15 Billion VND Pub for Female Deputy Head of Department" also published in Dan Viet newspaper, there is a passage that says: "Mr. Tran Khieu said that, in addition to the pub under construction, he and Ms. THL also own a restaurant in Duyen Hai district (Tra Vinh) and a company specializing in auctioning assets. According to Mr. Khieu, these assets are registered under Ms. THL's name but are also his, because he is the one behind it."

Later, in that same newspaper, of course, Mr. Tran Khieu denied it!?

After reading that information, I suddenly felt like… suddenly.

For some reason, ever since the movie "Suddenly Wanting to Cry" came out, so many things in our country have happened "suddenly."

There are claims of people suddenly becoming "intellectuals" even though they don't seem to have studied anything, or that they suddenly have a PhD.

Then, "suddenly promoted," considered a "young and talented" individual, with no achievements other than causing losses and destruction, yet rising rapidly through the ranks.

Then, "suddenly, they become younger," by a few years or so as they approach retirement, to the point where the eldest brother looks younger than the youngest sister.

Then there are cases of people suddenly becoming mentally ill after corruption is discovered, and they end up with a certificate of mental illness…

Recently, a phenomenon of "suddenly becoming very rich" has emerged. This involves some officials who, after many years of service, have declared assets that are pitifully meager, prompting National Assembly representative Duong Trung Quoc to bitterly exclaim: "Reading their asset declarations, I feel so sorry for our officials. Everyone is poor, living in state-provided houses, earning meager salaries… If officials are so poor, how can the people become rich?!"

Surprisingly, just a few months after retirement, many of them suddenly became incredibly wealthy. Their properties were worth tens, even hundreds of billions of dong. Their houses were like castles. They owned vast tracts of land. Sorry, their cars ran out of gas, but their properties were all prime real estate in the city; none of them ever went back to their hometowns to wander around.

Sometimes I suddenly wonder why those people got rich so quickly?

Winning the lottery and hitting the jackpot is definitely out of the question. Trafficking in contraband is also out of the question. Gambling is even more impossible. Yet, they suddenly became incredibly wealthy, like Lord Hòa during the Qing Dynasty in China. Who knows, perhaps this "unusual wealth" is actually commendable because of their genuine talent?

If that's true, then it's a great loss for them because while they were in office, they were busy serving the country and its people, leaving them with no time at all. But after retiring for a few months, they have the time to instantly make tens, even hundreds of billions of dong.

With such talent, if only those gentlemen had relinquished their positions of power and pursued business ventures decades ago, who knows, our country might have had dozens, even hundreds, of USD billionaires.

Oh, how wonderful it would be if people knew the secret to this "sudden wealth accumulation."

That's just talk, though; you never know for sure. Maybe they've been rich for a long time, but in a mysterious, or rather, secretive way.

In short, if what those newspapers say is true, hopefully the authorities will investigate and clarify the matter, most importantly to "clear their names," because suddenly becoming rich like that is damaging their reputation. I also hope that it's truly acquired through "nail polish" or at least a genuine "gift from a foster sister." My only worry is that it's the kind of asset that... "suddenly" acquired!

But if you guys suddenly become rich thanks to that "sudden" thing, then the people will continue to suffer for a long time because "there are many corrupt officials, and many people like... Ms. Dau," don't you think?

According to Dan Tri