Hanoi hosts 33 corruption trials in 9 months

Hanoi People’s Court heard 33 corruption cases involving 91 offenders in the first nine months of this year.

Le Quang Khai (C) was sentenced to death for the theft of state assets

Dao Sy Hung, the court’s Deputy Tribunal President said on October 9 that the death penalty had been applied for the first time in the capital for the theft of state assets.

According to Hung, the court dealt with over 18,000 out of over 19,000 cases by the end of September this year, including 7,600 criminal hearings involving over 14,500 offenders.

The most prominent case involved in three high-ranking officials of a bank in My Duc District. Le Quang Khai, Nguyen Thanh Hai and Le Van Hien wasted over VND46 billion (USD2.2 million) on gambling on football results. Khai was sentenced to death while Hai and Hien were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Hung said the court had also banned a judge for a year for violating his occupational morals.

Concerning labour disputes, 122 out of 126 cases were dealt with, an increase of 86 cases or 29.5% compared to the same period last year.

The court issued 10,000 rulings to prosecute criminal cases during the period. Nearly 6,450 people were jailed, and some 160 people were provided with suspended sentences, while over 4,100 people benefited from commuted sentences or amnesties.