Hanoi CDC chief arrested for graft in coronavirus test kit purchase

The Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday that Nguyen Nhat Cam was taken in for "violating regulations of the law on bidding causing serious consequences."

The CDC "conspired to cheat and raise the price of a bidding package for Covid-19 test kits utilizing Realtime PCR systems."

Nguyen Vu Ha Thanh, head of the agency’s financial accounting department; Le Xuan Tuan, an employee of the department; Dao The Vinh, director of the Vietnam Scientific and Material Science Company Limited; Nguyen Tran Duy, director of the Nhan Thanh Property Valuation and Auction company; Nguyen Ngoc Nhat, an employee of the Vitech Development Company Limited; and Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, an employee of the Eastern Medical Equipment Company, face the same charges.

The CDC, Nhan Thanh, the Vietnam Scientific and Material Science Company Limited, and several other entities are involved in the case, according to the public security ministry.

Cam has been the director of the Hanoi Center for Preventative Medicine since 2013 and took over at the Hanoi CDC in 2018.

The CDC is in charge of preventing outbreaks and infectious diseases in the capital.

It has collaborated with local authorities to disinfect areas with potential coronavirus infection and to investigate new infections.

It is also in charge of Covid-19 testing in the capital, and has been testing 2,500-3,000 people a day.

Vietnam has had 268 Covid-19 cases, 45 of them active. There have been no new cases in the last seven days.

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 210 countries and territories and claimed more than 183,800 lives.