Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh (born 1979, Thanh Xuân District, Hà Nội), and her husband Lê Văn Đông (born 1978). — Photo courtesy of the police

HÀ NỘI — The Criminal Investigation Agency of the Hà Nội Police Department on Monday announced the results of an investigation into a particularly serious case involving a criminal ring that manipulated forensic psychiatric assessments to evade criminal responsibility, engaged in drug use, and accepted bribes even while undergoing compulsory treatment.

The case occurred at the Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute (with branches in Hà Nội and Thanh Hóa). It included criminal offences like unlawful possession and use of narcotics, offering and accepting bribes, bribery brokerage, and abuse of position and authority in the course of official duties.

The case stemmed from the monitoring of two individuals: Nguyễn Thị Mai Anh (born 1979, Thanh Xuân District, Hà Nội), and her husband Lê Văn Đông (born 1978), both of whom were undergoing compulsory treatment at the Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute. Investigators discovered that the couple frequently left the facility to commit crimes and colluded with staff and leadership at the institute to falsify psychiatric assessment records in the attempts to dodge criminal prosecution.

On June 7, Hà Nội Police, in coordination with Thanh Hóa Police, caught Mai Anh and her husband, along with five others, in the act of using drugs in Sầm Sơn. That same night and into the early hours of June 8, authorities summoned 14 staff members from the male compulsory treatment ward of the institute for questioning.

During June 7-9, the investigation agency carried out emergency searches at 48 locations in Hà Nội and Thanh Hóa, seizing a large quantity of evidence and documents with an estimated value of several tens of billions of đồng.

Notably, at the time of arrest, 22 patients undergoing compulsory treatment were not present at the institute. Authorities suspect they had exploited falsified psychiatric assessments to elude criminal responsibility.

To date, the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Hà Nội Police Department has summoned 90 individuals involved in the case. Among them are 76 leaders and staff members of the Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute and 4 individuals undergoing compulsory treatment at the institute.

As of June 18, Hà Nội Police had formally launched criminal proceedings against 40 individuals, including 36 who were leaders or staff at the Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute, and two patients undergoing compulsory treatment.

Private room for drug use

The investigation revealed that during her compulsory treatment at the Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute, Mai Anh bribed the institute’s leaders and staff so that each person in her group was assigned a private room equipped with air conditioning and sound systems for parties, including drug use within the institute, and was even allowed to leave the premises.

Mai Anh and her husband frequently left the institute, even going on holidays and leisure trips, and at times invited the entire department from the forensic psychiatric institute to join them.

Since 2016, Mai Anh had colluded with assessors and senior officials at the institute to "purchase" favourable psychiatric assessments, gaining illicit profits amounting to billions of đồng. Numerous medical records were tampered with to falsely indicate mental disorders, helping serious offenders evade sentencing.

Hà Nội Police emphasised that the case not only exposed sophisticated criminal methods but also served as a warning to the entire judicial sector. They called on all relevant agencies to review forensic psychiatric assessment records dating back to 2020 to uncover and strictly deal with cases involving manipulated assessments to cheat prosecution.

The Hà Nội Police also urged media outlets to widely publicise this information so that judicial agencies nationwide may strengthen inspections and prevent similar incidents from recurring. — VNS