Former chairman of the diplomatic 14,000 m2 of land without authority
Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, former chairman of Co Do commune, Ba Vi district, was given a suspended sentence of 30 months in prison by the appeal court for not benefiting from land allocation violations.
The Hanoi People's Court of Appeal upheld the first instance court's sentence for defendant Thanh but changed his prison sentence to a suspended sentence for the crime.Violations of land management regulations,according to Point b, Clause 2, Article 174 of the 1999 Penal Code.
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| Defendants Quang (left) and Thanh at the appeal hearing on March 25. Photo: Hai Thu |
The accomplice, defendant Tran Manh Quang, former Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Co Do commune, also had his appeal accepted by the appellate court and was given a 20-month suspended sentence.
According to the first instance judgment of the Ba Vi District People's Court, in 2012, the Hanoi People's Committee had a policy of building new rural areas. Under the guidance of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the People's Committee of Co Do Commune, Ba Vi District established a Steering Committee for land consolidation. Defendants Thanh and Quang (then the Commune Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Council) respectively held the positions of Head and Deputy Head of the Committee. Each village had a sub-committee consisting of village and commune officials.
Because the quality of cultivated land is different, the subcommittees met to discuss the coefficient K to convert the difference in good and bad land area to come up with a compensation plan.
Through synthesis, the Subcommittee of Vien Chau village, Co Do commune found that the village has a total of 34,000 m2Land subject to compensation coefficient K. The Subcommittee presented a plan to sell these lands at 15 million VND/sao to pay for compensation coefficient K, which was approved by Mr. Thanh. Mr. Quang attended many meetings of the Subcommittee and agreed with the plan.
In October 2013, the Subcommittee handed over more than 61,000 m2Land for 6 households in need of purchase, 50-year term at the price of 2.5 billion VND. Of this, more than 14,000 m2belongs to public land for aquaculture. In theory, the land should be divided among households or returned to the commune People's Committee for management, but the defendants contracted it out to private individuals for profit.
The first instance panel of judges determined that defendant Thanh played the role of mastermind because he knew clearly that the above land area was not included in the land area to be consolidated and exchanged, and at the same time, he was aware that the Commune People's Committee did not have the authority to transfer or sell land, but still signed and approved the plans of the Subcommittee.
Defendant Quang, as deputy head of the department, attended a total of 10 meetings on land allocation and money collection. He was fully aware of the law but still expressed his opinion and agreed with the above policy, so he must receive the second highest penalty in the case.
During the appeal hearing, the two defendants admitted their wrongdoings but said they did not collude to profit, nor did they benefit from the land rental fees. Defendant Thanh asserted that he did not know or discuss with the households who bought the land, and that it was only due to negligence and "too much trust in subordinates" that he violated the law. "After being prosecuted, I realized I was wrong. Partly because I had too much work," the defendant defended.
Defendant Quang stated that he was paid 630,000 VND in compensation in the meetings, but did not take it. The amount of money that the households who bought the land submitted, as shown in the income and expenditure books, was all used to pay the K coefficient to the people, rent excavators, supervise and support leveling...
"The defendants clearly knew that the commune-level authority was not allowed to sell or transfer agricultural land, but they still did so. Even though they did not benefit, their responsibility was very great," the judge sternly reminded. Defendants Thanh and Quang bowed their heads in silence.
The appellate panel also recommended that the People's Committee of Ba Vi district reclaim the land area illegally allocated to 6 households in the case.
In connection with the case, four defendants, members of the Vien Chau Village Subcommittee, were sentenced to between 13 and 20 months in prison, suspended, but did not appeal.