Vuong Thai Dung, Deputy Director of Petrolimex said Vo Minh Toan and Vu Duc Thuan were drivers and assistants at Petrolimex subsidiary, the Petroleum Mechanical Joint Stock Company, while Pham Anh Tuan and Cao Thanh Tam worked for the Petrolimex SaiGon Transportation and Service Joint Stock company.
The tanker of Petrolimex transports poor-quality petroleum to Bach Dang petrol station in HCM City
The staffs admitted that they stole around 10-20 litres of petroleum from fuel tankers transporting fuel to petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City.
Petrolimex leaders have asked the two companies to confirm the stolen amount of petroleum and the substances added into the tankers, Dung said, noting that the inspection results would be submitted to police agencies.
Thanh Nien reporters recently revealed the poor quality of basic petrol based products available at unofficial street stalls and major private and state-owned petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to regulations, 16,000 litre capacity oil tankers are only authorised to transport petroleum directly to petrol stations for sale to consumers. However, in Ho Chi Minh City, after collecting petroleum from PV Oil Nha Be, trucks stopped to have their fuel adulterated with other substances.
The way stations are located in thinly-populated residential areas in streets such as Hoang Quoc Viet, Dao Tri and Huynh Tan Phat in District 7. All of these stop-off points carry no forms of identification or signage.
The reporters revealed the trucks stopping at these points included tankers from major petroleum companies, including Petrolimex.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade have demanded Petrolimex to clarify the responsibility of those involved in the scandal.
Under the ministry’s instruction, petroleum traders nationwide must be held responsible for all petroleum products in their distribution system to ensure that all petroleum products meet quality standards in a bid to ensure consumer safety amid rising controversy over a recent spate of vehicle fires.
The Ministry of Science and Technology have inspected 3,000 petroleum samples, including those used by vehicles which recently caught fire. The results will be announced before the Tet holiday, said Mai Chi Thuan, Deputy Chief Inspector from the ministry.
