Former Binh Dinh Ward Chairman Faces Additional Charges for Land-Related Offenses

On May 16, the Investigation Police Agency of Binh Dinh Province announced the initiation of legal proceedings and the prosecution of Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien (57), former Chairman of Nhon Binh Ward, Quy Nhon City, for “abuse of position and power while performing official duties.”

According to the investigation, in 2018, during the process of confirming the origin of plot 271 (in Nhon Binh Ward), Mr. Hien failed to direct the inspection and verification of the file, resulting in incorrect confirmation of the land area.

The actual land area was only 30.11 square meters (with 18.59 square meters already reclaimed in 2002), but Mr. Hien signed a confirmation for 48.7 square meters. As a result, the land was issued with a red book [land use right certificate] with an incorrect area and subsequently transferred through multiple owners.

In 2022, when the state reclaimed the land for a project, the area that had been previously reclaimed was still compensated, causing a loss of over VND 650 million.

About three months ago, Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien was detained for two months to investigate the charge of “negligence causing serious consequences” in another case related to plot 51 in the area planned for the construction of the North Ha Thanh Urban – Commercial Area.

In that case, Mr. Hien was accused of negligence, resulting in incorrect confirmation of the land origin, causing a loss of nearly VND 2 billion to the state and triggering prolonged complaints.

Also prosecuted in this case is Nguyen Van Luon (born 1988), former land official of Nhon Binh Ward, for “abuse of position and power while performing official duties.”