The Criminal Investigation Department notified their decision yesterday to prosecute three police officers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang for abusing their position and power while on duty.
Ngo Thanh Phong, former head of the investigation division on economic issues and position management, Nguyen Van Nen, former head of Chau Thanh District Police and Pham Van Ut, former head of the consultancy division of the investigation agency in Tien Giang Province were the three officers prosecuted.
Phong and Nen are out on bail but prohibited from traveling from their residential localities, while Ut is under arrest.
Homes and offices of the three offenders were also searched on the same day.
Earlier last December, the Tien Giang Province Police announced disciplinary action against the three police officers. Colonel Ngo Thanh Phong was demoted to lieutenant colonel and dismissed from duty.
Senior lieutenant colonel Nguyen Van Nen was demoted to lieutenant colonel and dismissed from the police force.
Major Pham Van Ut was demoted to captain and transferred to another post.
According to legal investigations, all the three officials made serious mistakes in investigating and handling some criminal cases.
Specifically, Nen wrongly arrested and searched the homes and offices of Bui Manh Lan, Chairman cum director of Hung Thinh Company in the southeastern province of Binh Duong and of Pham Van Huong, deputy director of the company.
Nen then continued to hold Lan, Huong and other associates in custody although the Supreme People’s Court had annulled the decision of temporary detention to them.
Nen then entangled into a civil dispute between Lan and a couple to illegally keep Lan’s properties as evidence to the case.
Phong and Nen also ordered Ut and others to take billions of dong in a petrol smuggling case and shared the spoils instead of sending the money into the State treasury. The petrol smuggling case was headed by Tran The Hung, Chairman of Thanh Phat Company in Tien Giang.
Lan wrote a letter denouncing his treatment by the officers on which the Investigation Agency acted and investigated the case and uncovered the above mistakes.
