LookAtVietnam – The People’s Supreme Procuracy on January 25 approved a prosecution, for taking bribes, against Huynh Ngoc Si, former director of the Japan-funded East-West Avenue project.

Huynh Ngoc Si left the court in HCM City last September.

The scandal relating to the management board of the East-West avenue project was prosecuted 13 months ago. This is Vietnam’s move after Japan asked for cooperation to investigate the scandal associated with Japanese company PCI.

PCI officials confessed to bribing Si in order to be chosen as the supervision consulter for the East-West avenue project.

According to Japanese media, PCI’s former officials confessed to giving $820,000 to Si, including $600,000 in 2003 and $220,000 in 2006.

Japanese agencies sent thousands of documents about this case to Vietnam. This scandal has become a hot topic in Vietnam and the Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung instructed prosecutors to ensure a clear outcome in the the case.

Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh told the local media that this is the first time Vietnam has used foreign documents as grounds for investigation.

Si is also the defendant in another scandal related to the East-West avenue project, in which the project management board leased its office to PCI. At the trial in September 2009, Si was sentenced to three years in jail for abusing power in service.

The construction of the East-West Avenue began in January 2005 after eight years of preparation. The avenue goes through the districts of 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8, as well as Binh Tan and Binh Chanh and it includes the Thu Thiem tunnel which crosses the Saigon River, the biggest tunnel in Southeast Asia.

The project was expected to finish in February 2008 but has been delayed until early 2010.

The initial investment capital for this huge project is 9.864 trillion dong, including over 6.3 trillion dong of Japan’s ODA capital.

PV