COVID-19 test kit scandal: Ex-health minister jailed for 18 years

The Hanoi People’s Court on January 12 sentenced former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long to 18 years in prison for taking bribes in the COVID-19 test kit case involving in the Viet A Technology JSC.

Sentences were also announced for 37 other defendants, including those from the Viet A Company, former officials from the Ministries of Health, and Science and Technology as well as ex-officials from the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of many provinces.

Specifically, Phan Quoc Viet, CEO and Chairman of the Viet A Company, received 14 years in jail for violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences, and an additional 15 years behind bars for giving bribes.

Vu Dinh Hiep, Deputy General Director of the Viet A Company, was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating regulations on bidding, causing serious consequences, plus eight years in prison for giving bribes.

For receiving bribes, Trinh Thanh Hung, ex-Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic-Technical Sectors under the Ministry of Science and Technology, was sentenced to 14 years; Nguyen Huynh, ex-secretary of Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, to nine years; Nguyen Minh Tuan, ex-Director of the Department of Health Equipment and Works under the Ministry of Health, eight years; Nguyen Nam Lien, ex-Director of the Department of Planning - Finance under the Ministry of Health, seven years; and Pham Duy Tuyen, ex-Director of Hai Duong province's CDC, 13 years.

Both Chu Ngoc Anh, ex-Minister of Science and Technology, and Pham Cong Tac, ex-Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, were sentenced to three years in prison for violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness.

Pham Xuan Thang, ex-Secretary of the Hai Duong provincial Party Committee, Pham Manh Cuong, ex-Director of Hai Duong province’s Department of Health, and Nguyen Van Trinh, ex-assistant of a Deputy Prime Minister were sentenced to five years, four years, and four years in prison, respectively, for abusing positions and power while performing official duties. 

Meanwhile, both Phan Ton Noel Thao and Ho Thi Thanh Thao, finance assistant and treasurer of the Viet A Company, were sentenced to four years in prison for giving bribes.

Other defendants in the COVID kit test scandal received imprison sentences ranging from 24 months to five years and six months in jail.

In December 2021, police arrested and initiated legal proceedings against Viet for raising the price of RT-PCR COVID-19 test kits and giving bribes to health officials to sell their test kits.

Viet and key leaders of the company had admitted to colluding with leaders of hospitals and CDCs to supply COVID-19 test kits to hospitals and CDCs at prices set by the company, which were much higher than the production price.

The Viet A company sold more than 4.5 million test kits, causing loss of 1,235 billion VND, including 402 billion VND for the State.

The Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency froze transactions and deposits and confiscated a total of around 1.7 trillion VND (73.9 million USD) in connection with this case.