HCMC – Tran Phuoc Hoang, chief inspector of Can Tho City, and his subordinate, Bui Xuan Thanh, have received disciplinary warnings for their involvement in bidding irregularities found at the municipal Health Department.
Le Van Thanh, head of the municipal Party Committee’s Inspection Commission, said that the Inspection Commission issued the warnings against Hoang and Thanh yesterday, November 18, the local media reported.
The same disciplinary sanctions were also imposed on three other State employees the same day, comprising Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, head of finance and investment at the city’s Department of Finance; Le Van Be Tam, head of appraisal at the city’s Department of Planning and Investment; and his subordinate Pham Minh Duc.
These five were found to be allegedly involved in violating bidding regulations that caused serious consequences at the Can Tho Department of Health, with total losses of VND33 billion.
The disciplinary actions were made following the request of the Investigative Agency of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
According to the MPS investigators, the Can Tho Inspectorate had discovered shortcomings at the municipal Health Department after inspecting the department’s bidding packages for purchasing medical equipment. However, the Can Tho Inspectorate could not address the shortcomings since it lost documents related to the case and thus failed to appraise the bidding prices.
The investigators added that three individuals from the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, including Deputy Director Le Duong Cam Thuy, who had been disciplined earlier, Le Van Be Tam, Pham Minh Duc, and Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung from the Finance Department, must be held accountable for their alleged involvement in the case.
These four were in charge of appraising investment proposals and cost estimations but trusted appraising units, documents, and proposals from the Health Department and thereby failed to discover violations, the investigators said.