[REVISION HISTORY]

Appellate trial begins for Vietnam hospital project case

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-09-25 11:01 UTC → 2026-09-26 04:53 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Supreme People's Court in Hanoi commenced the appellate trial on September 25 for former Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and nine other defendants. The case involves violations in the management and use of state assets during the construction of second facilities for Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Hospital in Ninh Binh, which reportedly caused losses exceeding 803 billion VND. Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was absent from the proceedings as she is receiving inpatient treatment at Thong Nhat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. She has filed an appeal seeking a suspended sentence and a reduction in her civil liability. Records indicate that she has already fulfilled the 108 billion VND compensation requirement mandated by the first-instance verdict. Similarly, defendant Nguyen Doan Tu has completed his 29 billion VND financial obligation and has also requested leniency through his appeal. During the proceedings, the prosecution recommended a sentence reduction of six months to one year for Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, though officials noted she is ineligible for a suspended sentence because her original six-year term exceeds the legal threshold. Other defendants, including Le Thanh Thiem—the only individual convicted of fraud—are also seeking leniency. Thiem, sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to return 2 million USD, cited personal health issues and family contributions as grounds for a reduction. The prosecution has proposed various sentence reductions for other co-defendants involved in the projects. In a development regarding the case, Bach Mai and Viet Duc hospitals have submitted documents to the court requesting leniency for the defendants, citing the “critical importance” of the hospital expansion projects for public healthcare in northern Vietnam.

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