Public opinion was stirred by the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs, on November 6, presented opinions to the National Assembly, requesting the prosecution agencies to classify violations, and be lenient towards violating officials but not for personal gain.
And on the same day, Chief Procuror of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri also made the same proposal as the Ministry of Home Affairs, in “developing a policy to strictly handle corrupt officials but impose lighter penalties for corrupt officials if ‘not for profit’.”
According to Tien Phong newspaper on November 6, in the news with the title “Director of the Supreme People’s Procuracy: Differentiating crimes, severely punishing masterminds, giving lighter penalties for those who are not for profit.”
The news said that on the morning of November 6, reporting before the hearing at the National Assembly, Director of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri proposed to develop a policy to handle crimes in the fields of economics and corruption, ensuring the requirements of both strict punishment and leniency, creating conditions for wrongdoers to overcome consequences, in order to better recover corrupt and lost State assets.
Chief Procuror Le Minh Tri’s proposal immediately met with public opinion of opposition and disagreement, with a general assessment that the proposal was a rescue solution for corrupt officials to escape or reduce the charges against them, when bring to trial.
Associate Professor, Dr. Mac Van Trang wrote on his personal Facebook: “The Chief Procuror of the Supreme People’s Procuracy proposed to impose lighter penalties for corrupt officials if their committed wrongdoing not for ‘personal gain.’ I think, it is possible to do something wrong without profit; there is no ‘non-profit’ corruption.”
Speaking to Thoibao.de from An Giang on condition of anonymity, a retired military officer said:
“This is an extremely unreasonable proposal, which will create legal provisions as a cover to protect corrupt officials. Mr. Le Minh Tri’s proposal is completely contrary to the General Secretary’s anti-corruption policy of ‘no prohibited areas, no avoidance zones’.”
This is a common sentiment among those interested in the country’s political situation. But few people know that this is the policy of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who stated: “If any officer has made a mistake and then voluntarily step down, or voluntarily return the corruption sum, he or she will be ‘exempted’ from being prosecuted or punished lightly. It’s not good to be punished harshly, it’s not good to remove everyone from office…”
That issue has been resolved by the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the request of the General Secretary. Clearly shown in Announcement No. 20/BBT-TW, dated September 8, 2022, of the Politburo, on allowing leaders from Central Committee members and above, if corrupt, to overcome the consequences and step down, they will not be charged.
The issue worth discussing here is whether there are officials who have committed corruption and are “not self-interested“?
According to the definition of the Vietnamese Dictionary, “self-interest” is a verb that refers to the pursuit of personal benefits. And “self-seeking” according to the provisions of the Criminal Code is the case where the offender has taken advantage of position, power or abuse of power to appropriate material or non-material benefits for himself or for other organizations and individuals.
That is, corrupt behavior also includes self-seeking behavior. So where does the non-profit come from that Chief Procuror Le Minh Tri proposed to consider reducing the punishment for corrupt officials?
Dr. Mac Van Trang said: “I think, you can do wrong without getting profit; there is no ‘non-profit’ corruption, for the same reason. This shows that the legal awareness of the head of the Vietnam State Procuracy is very problematic, and it can be affirmed that Mr. Le Minh Tri has not understood the issue.”
It is known that previously, on March 20, Mr. Le Minh Tri also proposed to the National Assembly to consider allowing a reduction in prison sentences and an increase in fines for leaders who commit violations without having profit.
According to experts and public opinion, it is seen that the proposals of the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri do not ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, which is constitutionally stated in the Constitution and the Criminal Code. At the same time, it will create dangerous precedents, that is, corrupt officials, if discovered, only need to return 2/3 of the corrupt assets to be released!
Thoibao.de (Translated)
