Officials found guilty in illegal adoption trial
Sixteen former medical and orphanage officials were found guilty September 28 at Nam Dinh Province People’s Court on charges of forging documents and receiving bribes from foreigners to adopt 266 children.
They include a director of two centers for orphaned and abandoned children and
13 heads of commune medical centers, who earned billions of dong between 2005 and 2008 through abuse of their authority.
Vu Dinh Khan, 54, former director of the Truc Ninh District Social Welfare Center and head of the Viet Hung Commune medical center, received a sentence of 54 months for allowing 222 children to be adopted by foreigners in return for cash.
Tran Thi Luong, 46, former director of the Y Yen District Medical Center, received 42 months for faking papers for 102 children, of whom 101 have already been taken out of the country.
The former head of the Y Yen Medical Center, Truong Cong Lich was given 36 months for the same crime.
Vu Dinh Loi, former head of other medical centers in the district, Tran Trong Lam, a noodle seller, and Vu Van Kiem, son of Vu Dinh Khan, received 24 months each.
Other former officials were sentenced from 15 months to 18 months probation.
The adoption scandal in the northern province of Nam Dinh came to light early July.
According to the indictment, each member of the adoption ring each received from at least five million dong to hundreds of millions of dong.