Peoples court

HANOI -- A court in Vietnam on Thursday sentenced a former deputy health minister to four years in prison for his involvement in a trading ring for fake medicines. Truong Quoc Cuong, 59, who had been a deputy health minister since 2016, was accused late last year of helping local firms to import more than VND148 billion ($6.4 million) worth of fake medicines to sell domestically, according to a Ministry of Public Security statement. Vietnam authorities have stepped up an anti-graft drive with a recent series of arrests targeting prominent business people, market regulators and health officials. Dozens of senior health officials have been accused of wrongdoing in medical procurement, including claims they overstated the cost of coronavirus test kits. The Communist Party of Vietnam has also proposed disciplining the Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long for his "involvement in wrongdoing". It was unclear if Cuong pleaded guilty. He was convicted of demonstrating a "lack of … [Read more...] about Vietnam court jails ex-health official amid anti-graft drive

Cuong was sentenced by the Hanoi’s People Court after being charged with "negligence that results in serious consequences". He is also forbidden from holding positions in the field of medicine for three years after finishing his sentence. Nguyen Minh Hung, former chairman of the management board of pharmaceutical firm Vietnam Pharma JSC, received 18 years in jail for "manufacturing and trading of counterfeit medicines for treatment or prevention of diseases". Hung had been sentenced to 17 years under the same charge at another trial over the case in 2019. His cumulative years to spend in prison will be 30 years, the maximum number of jail time for combined timed sentences in accordance with Vietnamese law. 12 others convicts related to the cases were also sentenced to between 2-20 years in jail. The sentences were the latest development in a counterfeit drug case involving Vietnam Pharma and the fake drug branded Health 2000 Canada. Cuong stands accused of violations that allowed … [Read more...] about Former deputy health minister jailed in fake cancer drug scandal

An overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA) Havana (VNA) – A delegation of Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Court led by Deputy Chief Justice Nguyen Van Du paid an official visit to Cuba from May 18-21 to promote cooperation between the two court sectors and attend the 10th International Meeting on Justice and Law. At a working session with the Chief Justice of Supreme People's Court of Cuba, Rubén Remigio Ferro, the Vietnamese deputy chief justice informed the host on the main reforms in the Vietnamese court system in the recent past, including enhancing the publicity of sentences, improving judicial service quality for the public and modernising material conditions. He stressed that in its judicial reform strategy, the Vietnamese State aims to enhance the capacity of judges, build electronic courts and intensify international experience exchange. The Cuban chief justice also shared the orientation for the modernisation of the Cuba n court system, and noted the similar points … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Cuba promote cooperation in justice

Shedko Dmitrii at the trial in Binh Thuan province. (Photo: VNA) Binh Thuan (VNA) - The People's Court of Binh Thuan province on May 23 handed a seven-month prison sentence to a Russian man for illegal possession of narcotics. According to the verdict, 34-year-old Shedko Dmitrii arrived in Vietnam in November 2019 and rented an apartment in Ham Tien ward in Phan Thiet city. In August 2020, he suffered a broken hand during a fight, and after the injury healed, he claimed he was still in pain and decided to use cannabis as a painkiller . In August 2021, he bought seeds to plant in his own home as he said he didn't have money to purchase the product. However, the excuse was deemed unacceptable, as before growing the cannabis, Dmitrii spent a significant sum of money on lights, humidifiers , dryers, electronic scales, and microscales for his growing system. On December 24, 2021, Phan Thiet city's criminal police said they caught Dmitrii in illegal possession of a … [Read more...] about Russian man jailed for seven months for cannabis possession

Hanoi, (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on May 13. -President Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted visiting Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP)’s Central Committee and President of the Lao People’s Supreme Court Viengthong Siphandone in Hanoi on May 13. President Phuc affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam always attach great importance to preserving and developing the special Vietnam-Laos ties, including the cooperation between the two Supreme People’s Courts. Read full story - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of other ASEAN countries had a working lunch with US lawmakers in Washington D.C. on May 12 (local times), ahead of the ASEAN-US Special Summit. Participants discussed issues related to cooperation in trade, investment, people-to-people exchange, science-technology, renewable energy development, and the response to security challenges in the region and the world. Read … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on May 13

The protests kicked off what organizers predict will be a "summer of rage" ignited by the May 2 disclosure of a draft opinion showing the court's conservative majority ready to reverse the 1973 ruling that established a woman's constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. The court's final ruling, which could return the power to ban abortion to state legislatures, is expected in June. About half of the 50 states are poised to ban or severely restrict abortion almost immediately should Roe be struck down. "If you can't choose whether you want to have a baby, if that's not a fundamental right, then I don't know what is," said Brita Van Rossum, 62, a landscape designer who traveled from suburban Philadelphia to join the abortion-rights rally in the nation's capital, her first ever. Protesters marching under the slogan "Bans Off Our Bodies" took to the streets from New York and Atlanta to Chicago and Los Angeles in a show of outrage that Democrats hope will help galvanize support … [Read more...] about Thousands in US march under ‘Ban Off Our Bodies’ banner for abortion rights