DPA
Hanoi - The Vietnamese Communist Party has suspended an official accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a Japanese company while in charge of Ho Chi Minh City's largest infrastructure project, a party official said Friday.
The accused official, Huynh Ngoc Si, had already been relieved in late November from his government posts as director of Ho Chi Minh City's East-West Highway Project and deputy director of the city's Department of Transportation.
On Thursday, Si was suspended from his Communist Party posts as well.
Si is accused of taking 820,000 dollars in kickbacks between 2003 and 2006 from the Japanese firm Pacific Consultants International (PCI). The case has already put several Japanese executives in jail.
'Si was not shocked, but calm, when I announced the decision' to suspend him, said Ho Hoang Son, head of the Party's supervisory committee for the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation.
'If he is found guilty, we will expel him from the party,' Son said. 'But if he is innocent, we will consider resuming his posts.'
On November 12, four PCI officials accused of bribing Si pleaded guilty in Tokyo district court to violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law, which bans Japanese citizens from bribing foreign government officials.
The case led to public anger in Japan, but until recently Vietnam said it lacked evidence to investigate Si.
Last week, at an annual meeting of foreign aid donors to Vietnam, Japan announced it was halting all new official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam until authorities investigated the case thoroughly. Japan provided Vietnam with over 200 million dollars in ODA in 2007.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese police announced they were opening an investigation into the PCI case.
Vietnamese media have noted legal discrepancies which could prove an obstacle to prosecution. Vietnam may find it difficult to summon the four convicted Japanese executives as witnesses in the case because the two countries have not signed an extradition treaty.
The accused official, Huynh Ngoc Si, had already been relieved in late November from his government posts as director of Ho Chi Minh City's East-West Highway Project and deputy director of the city's Department of Transportation.
On Thursday, Si was suspended from his Communist Party posts as well.
Si is accused of taking 820,000 dollars in kickbacks between 2003 and 2006 from the Japanese firm Pacific Consultants International (PCI). The case has already put several Japanese executives in jail.
'Si was not shocked, but calm, when I announced the decision' to suspend him, said Ho Hoang Son, head of the Party's supervisory committee for the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation.
'If he is found guilty, we will expel him from the party,' Son said. 'But if he is innocent, we will consider resuming his posts.'
On November 12, four PCI officials accused of bribing Si pleaded guilty in Tokyo district court to violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law, which bans Japanese citizens from bribing foreign government officials.
The case led to public anger in Japan, but until recently Vietnam said it lacked evidence to investigate Si.
Last week, at an annual meeting of foreign aid donors to Vietnam, Japan announced it was halting all new official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam until authorities investigated the case thoroughly. Japan provided Vietnam with over 200 million dollars in ODA in 2007.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese police announced they were opening an investigation into the PCI case.
Vietnamese media have noted legal discrepancies which could prove an obstacle to prosecution. Vietnam may find it difficult to summon the four convicted Japanese executives as witnesses in the case because the two countries have not signed an extradition treaty.
6 comments:
Yok yol is not bring Cambodia to prosperity. Cambodia must be a discipline country to bring our country to the next level. Whether we want or not is up to the ruling government. We have no time to waste...while other countries are moving ahead.
An arrogant strong man will never imitate anyone's act.
Can K-I scratch off the word Ho Chi Minh city and replace it with Prey Nokor City? It is more appropriate because it was so and it will be so.
Cambodia cannot be prospered by the present member of the government. To archieve high result, the country need to elect people with high quality of leadership, with high integrity and high level honesty. The present thick face and shameless people wouldn't dare to see other people better than them. People need sacrifice themself from their quality life to seve others. The Buddha has left his royalty life to sacrice himself to find the trueth of life for millions others.
I found Cambodia has also many people of that quality but they didn't have chance to serve others. In politic, I sincerely congratulate for Mr Sam Rainsy, Mr Son Chhay and many others for sacrifice their luxury lives in overseas to fight for social justice in Cambodia. In NGO, I also like to congatulate to Mam Sonando, Lao Mong Hai, Ou Virak, and many others for the same reasons. They deserved to be recognised. Areak Prey
These fucking monsters will be died in a couple of years.
Wow yuon democracy are really corruption free.
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