Vietnam Coast Guard commander sacked over dereliction of duty

In a decision issued Friday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also removed four other senior coast guard officials from their positions: Major General Pham Kim Hau, Major General Tran Van Nam, Major General Doan Bao Quyet and Colonel Nguyen Van Hung.

The decision also stripped former Political Commissar of Vietnam Coast Guard, Lieutenant General Hoang Van Dong, and former Deputy Commander Major General Bui Trung Dung of their titles.

On Oct. 1, Son had been removed as Deputy Secretary of the Coast Guard Party Committee by the Party Secretariat, along with six other officials.

The Secretariat determined that the Standing Party Committee of the Vietnam Coast Guard had, in the 2015-2020 period had lacked "responsibility, leadership, direction, inspection and supervision", letting the High Command and its subordinate units commit serious violations of the Party's regulations, the laws of the State and Ministry of National Defense in finance, capital construction investment projects and purchase of technical equipment and materials, causing serious consequences.

As the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard, Son was deemed jointly responsible for violations of the Standing Party Committee from 2015-2020. He was also primarily responsible for the violations committed by the High Command and its subordinate units.

Also Friday, the Prime Minister appointed new personnel to Vietnam Coast Guard positions after dismissing Commander Son and the four other senior officials.