HCMC – Two former heads of the Vietnam Register, Tran Ky Hinh and Dang Viet Ha, are facing jail terms of 20-25 years for alleged irregularities in auto testing, according to local media reports.
After an 11-day first-instance trial, the prosecution on August 6 proposed sentences for Hinh, Ha, and 252 other defendants over violations at Vietnam Register and vehicle inspection centers in HCMC and several other localities across the country.
Tran Ky Hinh, who served as head of Vietnam Register from 2014 to 2017, may be sentenced to 18-19 years in prison for accepting bribes totaling over VND7.1 billion and an additional 5-6 years for abusing his position and power while performing official duties. The total proposed sentence for Hinh is 23-25 years in prison.
Dang Viet Ha, who served as director of Vietnam Register from August 2021 to December 2022, is facing a 20-year prison sentence for receiving over VND40 billion in bribes and personally benefiting by VND8.55 billion.
The prosecution proposed a 4-5 year prison sentence for Nguyen Vu Hai, deputy general director of Vietnam Register, for abusing his position and power while performing official duties in issuing capacity notifications for 15 shipbuilding facility dossiers that did not meet the requirements.
They proposed a 17-18 year prison sentence for Tran Anh Quan, acting head of Vietnam Auto Register (VAR) at Vietnam Register, for accepting bribes totaling more than VND60.9 billion and personally benefiting by over VND11.7 billion.
Tran Lap Nghia, owner of five vehicle inspection centers in the Mekong Delta, might get a 12-13 year prison sentence for bribery, another 12-13 years for falsification of documents, and 4-5 years for unauthorized access to computer networks, telecommunications networks, or electronic devices of others. The total proposed sentence for Nghia is 28-30 years in prison.
For the remaining 248 defendants, the prosecution proposed the court sentence 183 defendants to prison terms ranging from 4 to 26 years; 20 defendants to 3-4 years in prison; 14 defendants to 2-3 years in prison; and 31 defendants, including vehicle inspectors and vehicle owners, to suspended sentences of 1 year and 6 months to 3 years in prison for bribery.
