(PLO)- Giving 3.4 billion dong can’t be said to be affection, or if you like it, give it. That is the nature of corruption, of giving and receiving bribes.
The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City has just sentenced the case of Hoang Thi Thuy Nga (founder of NSJ Gro – contractor) and two former directors of the Health Department of Can Tho City. Notably, the court recommended the investigating agency to clarify the behavior around the gift of 3.4 billion dong that the Russian defendant gave to the officials at that time…
Specifically, the jury found that the defendant’s payment of 3.4 billion VND (if any) also stemmed from the fact that the former director of the department had facilitated the Russian defendant to win the bid. The act of giving and receiving money (if any) is a sign of another independent crime, so the trial panel recommended further investigation and clarification.
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Defendant Hoang Thi Thuy Nga in the trial of a bid violation case occurred at the Department of Health of Can Tho City recently. Photo: HOANG GIANG |
Vietnamese law strictly regulates gift giving in order to avoid acts of corruption, giving and receiving bribes. Specifically, according to Article 22 of the 2018 Law on Anti-corruption, people with positions and powers in agencies, organizations and units are not allowed to receive gifts in any form. If the gift cannot be refused for reasons of work or diplomatic relations, the gift recipient must report it to a competent state agency to handle the gift.
Besides, Article 27 of Decree 59/2019 guides: Valuable gifts such as money or valuable objects, when received, must be reported to the immediate superior and then remitted to the budget. In case they do not know the value of the gift at the time of receipt, they must then ask for a valuation and then send it to a competent state agency for handling. In short, having held a position and authority in a state agency, he cannot receive any material benefits or non-material benefits at all.
Looking around the world, countries like the US have a rule that the president can receive a gift of no more than $375. If the gift is above this amount, the recipient has to spend money to buy it. During the diplomatic service, Hillary was given a black pearl necklace from the Myanmar government, and then determined that the pearl chain cost $1,000, so she had to spend money to buy it.
Two terms as president, Mr. Barack Obama was given a lot of gifts but he did not spend money to buy any gifts. When he visited Saudi Arabia, he was given a white gold ring worth 1.3 million USD. He took, then brought back figs to the budget.
Or as Canada has regulations, if the gift is under 200 USD, the prime minister is entitled to receive it, above this value must be declared within 30 days. In 2018, the prime minister of this country received a pair of glasses worth 300 USD from the premier of an island in Canada. He did not declare within 30 days as prescribed, was discovered and fined 100 USD.
Once businesses give money to officials, they probably want the official to facilitate them to do something. Giving 3.4 billion dong can’t be said to be affection, or if you like it, give it. That is the nature of corruption, of giving and receiving bribes. According to Article 354 of the Penal Code on the crime of accepting bribes: Persons who have positions and powers by their actions or through intermediaries receive or will receive to perform work on the basis of achieving the purpose of the person giving the bribe constitutes a crime. Bribery. The act of giving 3.4 billion dong is a trick for Russia to achieve its goal. That’s easy for anyone to see.
The proverb “He gives her legs, she sticks out a bottle of wine” talks about a reciprocal relationship, where no one gives nothing to anyone. Idioms viewed from two angles. First: People who are equal, in the respectful and respectful treatment of each other, on holidays, Tet, and birthdays, they send gifts and cakes to each other with the desire for a more intimate relationship.
Second: From the perspective of a business on the one hand and an official in charge of the field on the other, giving will create cronyism, when the business gives you a gift, it has a very clear and specific purpose. is to make a profit in the business. Officials receive huge gifts that cannot be said to be given by businesses that love them.
In terms of position, if that official is retired, will the business bring 3.4 billion dong as a gift? If there is a gift, it is customary to ask that person to “talk to Mr. Ba, Mr. Tu for an hour” about a case or project. So the bidding package is because your agency is the investor, the business brings money to donate, you can’t just accept it and say people bring it yourself, you don’t know anything. The relationship between businesses and officials in charge of the field, when giving gifts, officials must be careful, don’t think that no one knows, don’t see that “suddenly there is money, why don’t you accept it” and then get indigo, prison sin…
Grandparents have a saying “If you go through the melon field, don’t fix your shoes, if you go through the peach garden, don’t fix your hat”. When going through the peach garden, even if the hat is off, do not raise your hand to fix the hat, it will be suspected of stealing peaches. When going through the melon field, even if the sandals are broken, don’t bend down to fix them, you will be suspected of stealing melons.
If every official obeys his command and avoids all suspicious cases, there will be no stories of giving or receiving bribes like this case or in many other cases.
The free cheese is only available in the mousetrap; Officials “bounce” on stars to avoid prison!
Dr. CAO VU MINH