Provincial leader rebuked for promoting unqualified housing official in Vietnam

The vice chairman of the central province of Thanh Hoa has received an official reprimand for fast-tracking the promotion of an unqualified official.

Ngo Van Tuan received his punishment from the provincial Communist Party unit on Friday for ignoring the official recruitment and promotion process. Vietnam’s Communist Party has four methods of punishment for misconduct by official members: reprimand, warning, demotion and expulsion.

The unit said Tuan had appointed Tran Vu Quynh Anh to work as head of the housing and real estate market management division under the provincial construction department despite the fact that she did not have the managerial or political experience necessary for the role.

He promoted Anh to the position just six months after appointing her as deputy head of the office in April 2014.

Thanh Hoa Province ordered an investigation into her political rise in March follwing a media frenzy, with many reports describing her rise as “meteoric” while raising questions about her villas and luxury cars.

At the time, provincial leaders denied that there was anything improper about her relations with high-ranking officials or her personal assets.