Gambling, bribery trial of Vietnamese officials erupts in chaos

Aug 3, 2007, 11:42 GMT

Hanoi - Chaos erupted in the high-profile gambling and bribery trial of nine Vietnamese government officials, police officers and businessmen Friday, with several of the defence lawyers storming out of the courtroom, local media reported.

The judge in the case suspended proceedings until Tuesday, when a verdict will be given to the nine men accused of running or protecting a football-betting ring that siphoned off millions of dollars in state funds, according to Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper.

The case surrounding the state road-building company known as PMU 18 scandalized the country when it first came to light and led to the resignation of the transport minister and the arrest of his deputy, who is not being tried this week.

Defence attorneys for the nine defendants complained that the prosecutor did not present any evidence in the case, but instead only read the prepared indictments.

They also complained the judge interrupted defence lawyers trying to make their case.

The leading figure in the trial, PMU 18's director Bui Tien Dung, is accused of betting some 750,000 dollars on European football matches. At least some of the money is believed to have come from state funds and there have been reports up to 7 million dollars is missing from transport projects linked to PMU 18.

Two other PMU 18 officers, four policemen and two private businessmen are on trial for being part of the gambling ring or taking bribes to protect it.

Dung is charged with bribery, but his lawyer said he is not guilty because he only paid 30,000 dollars to a police officer - who is also on trial this week - to find out if he himself was implicated in the bust of the gambling ring, not to try to prevent his own arrest.

'According to [the lawyer], when the football betting ring leader was arrested, his client was obviously worried and wanted to know what was going on and asked other people to help,' Tien Phong reported.

The PMU 18 scandal forced the resignation of the transport minister last year for not detecting the embezzlement and was a hot topic in the run-up to last year's Communist Party Congress.

The case intensified pressure for Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to crack down on graft, which the government has been trying to show it is doing.

Gambling is illegal in Vietnam and organizing it carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The maximum punishment for bribery is the death penalty.