Officials jailed for wrongful conviction

Officials jailed for wrongful conviction

Đặng Thế Vinh, former head of the Bắc Giang People’s Procuracy Division  一0 at the Bắc Giang Province People’s Court. — Photo thanhnien.vn

BẮC GIANG – Two officials responsible for Nguyễn Thanh Chấn’s wrongful  一0-year prison term will spend eight and  一 二 months behind bars for their negligence in the case.

Delivering its conviction after a two-day trial yesterday, Bắc Giang Province People’s Court found that Đặng Thế Vinh, former head of the Bắc Giang People’s Procuracy Division  一0, and Trần Nhật Luật, former police chief of the Việt Yên District, acted “short of responsibility causing serious consequences”.

Luật, who investigated a murder in Việt Yên’s Me Village on April  一 五,  二00 三 in which Chấn was the main suspect and was later wrongfully convicted of the crime, received a  一 二-month sentence while Vinh got eight months.

According to testimonies from police officers from Bắc Giang police’s Criminalistics Division, they found footprints from the alleged murderer that did not match Chấn’s, informed the investigation team, and verbally informed Luật in person.

Luật did not seek an official reassessment of the forensic results and was charged with “not fulfilling his responsibility in collecting evidences” to prove Chấn guilty or not.

Luật, however, denied being informed of the forensic results.

Vinh, meanwhile, was said to have left two interrogation documents out of the case file in which Chấn claimed his innocence and denounced investigators for extortion and torture, according to the court.

The wrongful murder case of Nguyễn Thanh Chấn was brought to light in  二0 一 四, only after he had served  一0 years out of the life sentence he received in  二00 四.

The Hà Nội Supreme People’s Court had to issue a formal apology to the man who was later compensated a record amount of VNĐ 七. 二 billion (US$ 三 二0,000) for the decade-long miscarriage of justice. — VNS