AFP, HANOIA court in Vietnam yesterday sentenced a former communications minister to life in prison for receiving millions of dollars in bribes, as the hardline administration presses its anti-graft drive against once-powerful figures in the communist state. The two-week trial in Hanoi for the men — once members of the powerful Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee — ended yesterday, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. Son, a minister from 2011 to 2016, was sentenced to life in prison, while Tuan — who took over as minister until he was fired in July last year — got 14 years in prison. “The defendants’ behavior caused bad opinions in society, resulting in especially huge losses for the state,” state media quoted the verdict as saying. It also “caused US$300 million in losses to state coffers,” the verdict said, although the transaction was never fully completed.

Source: Taipei Times December 28, 2019 15:56 UTC