The Inspector General invited a press conference about the 'gang beating' incident.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man's press conference about the "gang beating" was scheduled to take place on October 7, but was not granted permission.

Recently, 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 matter of being "smeared" and "beaten up by a group".

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."

Press conference invitation of Mr. Nguyen Minh Man.

Expressing his opinion on the matter, Mr. Le Hong Linh, spokesman of the Government Inspectorate, said that this was a personal matter. Mr. Man did not report to the Government Inspectorate, so the management and licensing were under the Department of Information and Communications.

A representative of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications said that the agency had sent a document to Mr. Man and a number of related units, informing them that permission for the press conference was not granted because it "was not in accordance with regulations".

Mr. Nguyen Minh Man. Photo: Ba Do

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. So 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