Voluntarily paying 4 billion VND, father still hopes Trinh Xuan Thanh did not embezzle
Mr. Trinh Xuan Gioi - the father of defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh said that the family has paid 4 billion VND to compensate for the consequences that the investigation agency determined Trinh Xuan Thanh embezzled. However, Mr. Gioi still hopes that his son really did not embezzle.
On the morning of January 14, the panel of judges at the trial of defendant Dinh La Thang and his accomplices requested the defendants, representatives of civil plaintiffs and relatives of the defendants, and those who performed civil responsibilities on behalf of the defendants to present their opinions before the panel of judges.
Mr. Trinh Xuan Gioi - father of defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh said that the family has paid 4 billion VND to compensate for the consequences that the investigation agency determined Trinh Xuan Thanh embezzled. However, Mr. Gioi still hopes that his son really did not embezzle.
“When our family met Trinh Xuan Thanh in detention, we heard my son say that he did not embezzle any property. However, my son’s lawyer advised that to show goodwill, my son had accepted responsibility as the leader, so he should remedy the consequences, and this money would be returned if it was concluded that my son did not embezzle. We voluntarily paid 4 billion VND into the temporary account of the investigation agency,” said the father of defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh.speak before the jury.
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| Mr. Trinh Xuan Gioi, father of Trinh Xuan Thanh. |
Meanwhile, when asked about his opinion, Trinh Hung Cuong -Trinh Xuan Thanh's eldest sonsaid he completely agreed with the defense attorneys' opinion.
Regarding the civil plaintiff's viewpoint, in his presentation, lawyer Vu Anh Duc - the representative of the legal rights and interests of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) said that the assessment of any issue related to the case must be linked to the historical context, on the basis of legal provisions. The Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant Project is a project involving many parties, many individuals, and many departments. Therefore, lawyer Vu Anh Duc requested the panel of judges to consider the legal rights and interests of PVN.
"In case any individual or organization causes damage to PVN, we respectfully request that the People's Court force that individual or organization to compensate PVN for the damage according to the law," PVN's representative requested.
PVN's representative also requested the panel of judges to consider reducing the sentence for the defendants who were former officials of the Group.
“Many defendants in this case were former PVN officials and made many contributions to PVN. Therefore, we respectfully request that the People’s Court consider mitigating circumstances, demonstrating the leniency of the law.”
Meanwhile, the second civil plaintiff in this case, the Petroleum Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC), also expressed his wish that the panel of judges consider reducing the sentences for the defendants in this case.