COVID-19 test kit case: 25-year sentence for Việt Á Company chairman

Defendants at the court. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

HÀ NỘI — Chairman of the Board of Directors of Việt Á Technologies JSC Phan Quốc Việt has been sentenced a total of 25 years in prison on charges of “abusing position and power while on duty” and “violating bidding regulations, causing serious damages”, in the COVID-19 test kit case at the Việt Á Technologies JSC and the Việt Nam Military Medical University (VMMU).

The military court of Hà Nội capital announced the verdict on Friday, following a three-day trial and deliberation.

Hồ Anh Sơn, former Deputy Director of the Military Medical Academy’s Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmacy, received a 12-year prison sentence while former Director of the Department of Science and Technology for Economic-Technical Sectors under Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) Trịnh Thanh Hùng was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Four other defendants, charged with “violating bidding regulations, causing serious damages”, faced jail sentences of between 4-7 years.

According to the indictment, amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the Board of Directors of the VMMU sent a document to the MoST, proposing the task of developing COVID-19 test kits.

The accused managed to engage the Việt Á Technologies JSC into the test kit development project worth nearly VNĐ19 billion (over US$781,400) and helped it get a licence to illegally produce the test kits.

Their wrongdoings caused an economic loss of nearly VNĐ18.5 billion ($762,260). — VNS