News Desk
Vietnam’s ex-Health Minister, Nguyen Thanh Long, has been handed an 18-year prison term over his involvement in a scandal related to Coronavirus test kits, as reported by state-controlled VNExpress on Friday. Long was found guilty of accepting bribes exceeding 51 billion VND (US$2.1 million). His secretary, Nguyen Huynh, received a nine-year sentence.
Other key figures involved in the scandal include former Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh, sentenced to three years, and former Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee Secretary Pham Xuan Thang, receiving a five-year term. The scandal, centered around the Viet A company, saw its CEO bribing officials with US$34 million to secure contracts for selling substandard test kits to hospitals at a 45% markup, generating US$172 million in profits.
CEO Phan Quoc Viet, at the heart of the controversy, received the harshest sentence of 29 years. The trial, part of Vietnam Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong’s anti-corruption initiative, resulted in significant sentences for others involved, including former deputy director Trinh Thanh Hung (14 years), former Ministry of Health Director Nguyen Minh Tuan (8 years), and former Ministry of Health Director Nguyen Nam Lien (7 years). The scandal also led to the removal of Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in January 2023, as he took responsibility for corruption cases during his term.
