Three officials get life term in Covid repatriation flight case

HCMC – Pham Trung Kien, former secretary to a deputy minister of health, and two other officials have been sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes in the Covid-19 repatriation flight scandal. Kien was found taking VND42.6 billion in bribes, Tuan VND27 billion, and Huong Lan VND25 billion. Vu Sy Cuong, former immigration officer at the Ministry of Public Security, had his appeal rejected, with his sentence of nine years in prison upheld. The verdict said that the repatriation flight scandal was a serious case that occurred at various ministries and localities. A total of 54 defendants related to the case were brought to court, including 21 officials from different ministries and localities, mainly accused of accepting bribes.