The Inspector General held a press conference about the 'gang beating'

After two refusals, on October 13, the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications granted a press conference permit to Mr. Man.

On the morning of October 14, Mr. Nguyen Minh Man - Acting Head of Department III, Government Inspectorate said that the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications had accepted his permission to hold a press conference.

The press conference focused on Mr. Man's affirmation that he did not slander the press and his contributions to the inspection industry...

Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications Phan Lan Tu confirmed the above information. "When the press conference organizer complies with the law, we agree to allow the meeting to be held," Ms. Tu explained the reason for agreeing when the Department had previously rejected Mr. Man's request twice.

According to the permit, Mr. Man will hold a press conference at a hotel in Hanoi on the morning of October 15.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man held a press conference. Photo: Ba Do

Previously, the acting Director of Department III of the Government Inspectorate, Nguyen Minh Man, sent an invitation to a number of press agencies to attend a press conference on October 7 at a hotel in Hanoi to clarify the "smearing" and "gang beating" incident, but the press conference was not licensed by the Department of Information and Communications.

In the invitation, Mr. Man stated that recently, some individuals "took advantage of public service activities" to "secretly record his instructions" and then edit and distort their nature, then colluded with some reporters to report inaccurate news, "with the intention of defaming" and "ganging up to beat him up".

Mr. Man affirmed that the above actions "trampled and damaged the prestige, honor, and harmed the health, life, and patriotic tradition of the family"; "affected the prestige and personal honor, caused internal disunity in the inspection sector, disrupted information, and disrupted political and social security."

In September 2016, social media appeared a 10-minute recording of Mr. Nguyen Minh Man's words at a meeting with leaders of Ho Chi Minh City National University and its affiliated schools. In it, Mr. Man said: "If the press interferes with the inspection process, it is very humiliating. Therefore, you must overcome this right from the start by not receiving any delegations."

On August 31, the Government Inspectorate issued a conclusion on its investigation into the statements of civil servants. The agency determined that the "insulting statements to journalists" in the online recording were made by Mr. Nguyen Minh Man and decided that he would have to apologize.

However, Mr. Man affirmed that the above conclusion is illegal, inaccurate, and even "pressured and humiliated him". He will not apologize because "there is no violation in making a statement, there is no corruption".

According to VNE