Former Chairman of the city’s People's Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung appears in court VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The former Chairman of Hà Nội People's Committee has been jailed for eight years for abuse of power.

Nguyễn Đức Chung was sentenced by Hà Nội People's Court over the illegal purchase of the water cleaning agent Redoxy 3C for the capital city.

Nguyễn Trường Giang, director of Arktic Trading and Service Co., Ltd, and Võ Tiến Hùng, general director of Hanoi Sewerage and Drainage Co., Ltd, were sentenced to four years and six months and four years, respectively for the same crime.

Previously, Nguyễn Đức Chung is currently serving a five-year sentence for appropriating the State’s secret files related to Nhật Cường Mobile’s accounting irregularities, smuggling, and money laundering.

Regarding civil liability, the trial panel ordered Chung, Giang and Hùng to be jointly responsible for compensating the civil plaintiff, the Hanoi Sewerage Company, at an amount of more than VNĐ36 billion. 

The court noted that the family of Nguyễn Đức Chung had paid VNĐ10 billion, while Giang’s family paid VNĐ1 billion to the Hanoi Civil Judgment Enforcement Department towards the compensation.

Property owned by Chung has also been placed under distraint as security for further compensation payments in the future.  

According to the indictment, in 2016, the Hà Nội People’s Committee directed relevant units to treat, renovate and tackle water pollution in rivers and lakes in the city by searching for suitable advanced technology. Chung, then Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee, chose the polluted water treatment technology of Watch Water Company (Germany), organised a tour to test it, and ordered the product Redoxy- 3C for use.

Chung then instructed defendant Võ Tiến Hùng to buy Redoxy-3C product through Arktic Company, an intermediary company where Giang acted as the Director, attempting to gain personal profit from the deal.

Arktic is wholly invested by Chung’s wife, Nguyễn Thị Trúc Chi Hoa, and their son, Nguyễn Đức Hạnh, according to the business registration certificate. Hoa asked another person to represent her family in the ownership of 40 per cent of this firm’s charter capital, while Giang acted as the owner of the remaining 60 per cent. Hoa repeatedly falsified papers to change contributors to this company’s capital.

The procuracy held that the actions by Chung and the others have caused “serious losses”, totalling more than VNĐ36 billion (nearly $1.6 million), to the State. VNS