Former intelligence deputy chief jailed for taking bribes

Nguyen Duy Linh, 50, former deputy head of the General Department of Intelligence under the Ministry of Public Security received the jail term for "taking bribes," Hanoi People's Court ruled in his absence.

Linh's subordinate Phan Van Anh Vu, 46, was sentenced to seven years and six months for "giving bribes."

At the trial on Friday morning, both Vu and Linh denied the accusations. But in the afternoon, Linh conceded and admitted to the charge, asking for leniency due to his poor health and wish to lessen the impact on his family. Linh promised to hand over the money that was illegally gained and his wife did after the Friday session.

Vu also admitted to his charge, but refused to exchange further with prosecutors, saying he wanted the sentencing to begin soon.

In 2017, Vu, a property tycoon hired as intelligence agent for the ministry, bribed Linh with VND5 billion to receive help with a criminal case involving him.

On Dec. 17, 2017, Linh said Vu might be investigated and arrested, so he recommended him to go overseas. Three days later, an investigation was launched into Vu for revealing state secrets, but he had already traveled to Singapore.

In January 2018, when Vu was taken back to Vietnam, he admitted to having bribed Linh.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2019 for "deliberately disclosing state secrets". An appeal court in late October commuted his sentence to eight years. In the same case, Phan Huu Tuan, former deputy head of the ministry’s General Department of Intelligence and Nguyen Huu Bach, a division head under the department, got seven and six years in jail, respectively.