‘Commune mandarin’ received prison sentence for embezzlement… super lean duck of poor households

Today (April 22), the High People’s Court in Hanoi opened an appellate court hearing for defendants Be Van Quynh (former Chairman of the People’s Committee of Xuan Noi Commune, Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province) and La Thi Vien (former successor of the People’s Committee). People’s Committee of Xuan Noi Commune) crime embezzlement of property.

The trial was opened to consider the defendant Vien’s appeal to reduce the penalty.

Previously, in December 2020, Cao Bang Provincial Police received a complaint from poor households in Xuan Noi Commune, Trung Khanh District, accusing the Chairman of the Commune People’s Committee of improperly implementing a project to support poverty reduction. .

According to the denunciation, in 2018, poor households in the commune were only provided with seedlings, were not provided with fertilizers, were not provided with technical training and were not allocated money for forest protection in 2019.

The investigating agency clarified that from 2016 to 2019, the two defendants made many mistakes in the process of implementing a project to support production development, diversify livelihoods and replicate poverty reduction models (Programme 135).

Specifically, in 2016 Xuan Noi Commune People’s Committee was approved to grant 19 households, each household 68 super lean ducks. But in reality, each household only received 50 children.

The number of ducks not enough for 19 households is 342, equivalent to an amount of more than 6.8 million VND.

In 2018, the project of supplying seedlings and fertilizers to 177 households was implemented, but the Chairman of Xuan Noi Commune People’s Committee and the accountant did not buy fertilizer to supply to 35 households, equivalent to more than 8.4 million VND.

In addition, the defendants also did not organize technical training corresponding to more than 3.9 million. The two defendants then forged signatures to make a false settlement of more than 12 million dong.

In 2019, the two defendants still did not organize technical training for households, making false documents to appropriate the project’s money. The total amount of money the two accused made false documents to “extract” is more than 12 million dong.

According to the first-instance judgment, the total amount of the two defendants making false documents to appropriate the project’s money in 2018 and 2019 was more than 25 million VND.

In addition, Mr. Quynh was also accused of appropriating the project’s money in 2016 which was more than 6.8 million VND.

​Based on the above offenses, the People’s Court of Cao Bang province sentenced defendants Be Van Quynh and La Thi Vien to 5 years each in prison for embezzlement of property.

After considering, the appellate court made the conclusion that the first instance court had fully considered the extenuating circumstances for defendant Vien. Because the amount appropriated is not large and the defendant has many extenuating circumstances, he only has to receive a sentence below the penalty frame.

According to the case file, the defendant was a helper, following the direction of defendant Quynh. The fact that the first-instance court sentenced the defendant to a 5-year prison sentence, equal to the prison sentence for defendant Quynh, was not appropriate.

Considering that it is necessary to differentiate the criminal roles, the appellate court decided to reduce Vien’s prison sentence to 1 year. Accordingly, the accused must serve a sentence of 4 years in prison.

T.Velvet