The Dinh La Thang case: Don't let emotions overwhelm reason and justice

This morning (January 17), Mr. Dinh La Thang, Trinh Xuan Thanh and other defendants will have the last word before the court deliberates.

During the days of the trial of defendant Dinh La Thang and his accomplices, many opinions on this historic trial appeared in both the press and social networks. One opinion said that Mr. Dinh La Thang is a person who has contributed to the country, is a leader with charisma, dares to say and do, is loved by the people, his mistakes are mostly due to the mechanism, etc. Another opinion said that he must be strictly punished to set an example for others, only then can we hope that the anti-corruption campaign of the Party and State will achieve results, regain the trust of the people, and avoid disaster for the country and the regime.

First of all, some of the things Mr. Thang did while in office are noteworthy. But we must consider Mr. Thang's work in the context of the duties and responsibilities of a civil servant when entrusted by the organization and the people. He is paid by the State to perform his duties, if he does well he will have the opportunity to advance and if he does not complete it he will even be fired.

Mr. Thang was convicted of wrongdoings while leading a state-owned economic group. He and his accomplices wasted thousands of billions of taxpayers' money, even causing the group to fall into debt...

Those who defend Mr. Thang say that the incident must be put in historical context, no one can do otherwise! We cannot blame the mechanism or the institution. Because, Mr. Dinh La Thang and the leaders of state-owned enterprises are entrusted with the responsibility of holding and using the people's tax money in the most effective way, knowing that it is wrong, knowing that it is not right but still trying to do it is irresponsible to the country and the people.

If they discover shortcomings in the mechanism and institutions, they must be the ones to advise the State and Government to adjust and change policies and laws for better management, not to take advantage of loopholes, act arbitrarily, plunder, and gain illegal benefits for themselves and their families. Therefore, we cannot cover up all crimes and wrongdoings because of a few actions that win the sympathy of the people.

From Nguyen Thanh Binh, Duong Chi Dung, Pham Cong Danh, Dinh La Thang and many other defendants involved in economic cases... were all devastated when they were caught up in the law, especially when they stood before the court. Their words and tears in court when mentioning their family circumstances, regrets, wishes... made many people feel moved and sympathetic.

When prosecuting Mr. Dinh La Thang, a senior official, the authorities carefully considered, taking into account both reason and emotion, both merit and crime.

Let the Court do its best to protect justice in the fairest and most objective manner. We should not, because of personal feelings or past favors to Mr. Dinh La Thang, take actions that confuse public opinion and obscure justice. If we only act based on emotions and lack reason, we cannot expect our Party's anti-corruption campaign to be successful./.