At the court. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The former deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security's General Department of Intelligence has been jailed for 14 years for taking bribes.

Nguyễn Duy Linh was sentenced by the Hà Nội People’s Court on November 6.

Due to health reasons Linh wasn't present at the court to learn his fate.

He received VNĐ5 billion (US$220,000) in payments from former Chairman of the Bắc Nam 79 Construction JSC, Phan Văn Anh Vũ.

According to the indictment, in mid-2017, Vũ was investigated over allegations he leaked State secrets, along with other illegal acts related to the purchase, sale and transfer of public houses and land in the central city of Da Nang and other localities.

Vũ then tried to make contact with Linh through a third party named as Hồ Hữu Hoà, 37, from Nghệ An Province, for help and information related to the investigation. Later, Vũ fled to Singapore after being informed by Linh that he could be detained and prosecuted.

Investigators found that Linh received a bribe worth VNĐ5 billion through Hoà from Vũ.

As a result, Vũ was imprisoned seven years and six months for the offense of bribes, bringing his total punishment being served to 30 years in prison. He had earlier been convicted of deliberately disclosing state secrets; abusing power to appropriate assets, and breaches in management and dishonestly using State assets and land management. 

Meanwhile, Hòa received a prison term of two years and seven months but as he has been in custody since March 2019, he has been released.

In addition, the court also ordered Linh to pay VNĐ5 billion to the state fund. The court noted that Linh had paid that amount on November 5.

The court assessed that the acts of the defendants were particularly serious, cause bad public opinion in society, and need to be severely punished to warn and deter, especially for corruption-related criminals. — VNS