Viet A does not import Chinese goods

On the afternoon of December 27, the first instance trial of four former officers of the Military Medical Academy and three others for assisting Viet A Company continued with the questioning.

Allowed to question the defendant, a lawyer asked Phan Quoc Viet to recount the discussions and work with defendant Trinh Thanh Hung (former Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Economic and Technical Sectors, Ministry of Science and Technology) about the test kit.

According to Viet, during the Covid-19 pandemic, defendant Hung called Viet A and asked him to participate in the Covid-19 test kit research project.

The reason was that the epidemic prevention context at that time was very urgent and at that time, only Viet A was qualified to do it.

The lawyer asked: Did Hung discuss and request that the defendant give him any benefits?

Defendant Viet replied: Absolutely not.

The lawyer asked: When participating in the Covid-19 test kit research project, did the defendant promise Hung any benefits?

Defendant Viet replied: Hung asked him to participate and did not think the epidemic would last long so he did not make any promises.

Regarding the money Phan Quoc Viet gave Hung on the occasion of National Day September 2 and Lunar New Year 2022, the General Director of Viet A Company stated that the motive came from personal feelings and was completely voluntary.

At the trial this afternoon, defendant Viet said that from the first Covid-19 outbreaks in Hanoi to Hai Duong and Bac Giang and then to the South, Viet A Company was the main unit providing and lending equipment and people to help localities increase productivity and effectiveness in fighting the epidemic.

In addition, Viet A Company provides anti-epidemic advice to localities.

"The defendant can affirm that Viet A's role and contribution to the success in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic is very large.

Viet A's participation in the fight against the epidemic is due to its responsibility to the country, at that time the country needed Viet A's test kit," Mr. Viet said, affirming that Viet A Company does not produce rapid tests and does not import goods from China.

The lawyer asked: According to the defendant, is the test kit product a national asset or a Viet A asset?

Defendant Viet replied: Currently, the defendant has received two groups of investigation conclusions and indictments. The civil group concluded that the project product is a national asset, while the military investigation conclusion is that the project is not completed, meaning there is no product yet. The defendant hopes that the Trial Council will give its opinion on this issue.

The lawyer asked: Currently, the Military Medical Academy has purchased a quantity of test kits from Viet A and has not paid yet. What is the defendant's opinion on this issue?

Defendant Viet replied: This is a completely legal business so payment must be made to Viet A according to regulations.

Military Medical Academy hopes the court will reduce the sentence for 4 former officers

Questioning Ho Anh Son (former Deputy Director of the Military Medical Research Institute, Military Medical Academy), the representative of the Procuracy asked the defendant to state his own mistakes.

Before the witness stand, Mr. Son admitted that during the implementation of the project, although the research was carried out, the results were not good, did not meet expectations and were not as good as the test kit of Viet A Company.

Therefore, the defendant, together with Trinh Thanh Hung (former Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Economic and Technical Sectors, Ministry of Science and Technology) and Phan Quoc Viet (General Director of Viet A Company), included Viet A's test kit in the research topic.

"This is actually not true because it was not a product researched by the Military Medical Academy and was not carried out exactly according to the contract," defendant Son stated.

Similarly, the Procuracy also questioned the General Director of Viet A Company about the defendant's responsibility in the case.

"First of all, the defendant admitted the wrongdoing. But the defendant hopes the panel of judges will consider the context at that time. In that situation, the defendant had no other choice," defendant Phan Quoc Viet stated.

In this trial, the Military Medical Academy was summoned as a victim.

Before the People's Court, the representative of the Military Medical Academy requested the court to consider reducing the criminal responsibility of the four defendants who were former officers of the academy.

"Due to the situation of preventing the epidemic like fighting the enemy, the defendants at that time had to carry out very urgent tasks so they did not receive any professional training or education.

The response process was also very urgent, so these incidents happened," the representative of the Military Medical Academy presented and hoped that the court would consider the work history of the 4 defendants with many achievements to consider reducing the sentence.