A former transport official, already sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, is facing another 10 to 20 years in prison after Vietnam’s Supreme Procuracy laid new charges against him on Tuesday.

Bui Tien Dung, 50, was charged with “deliberately violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.”

Dung was the former head of the Transport Ministry’s Project Management Unit 18, known as PMU 18, the agency responsible for managing the construction of highways, bridges and other infrastructure.

A trial date for Dung, who was arrested in 2006, has not yet been set.

Police have accused Dung of misusing dozens of state-owned cars between 1998 and 2006, costing the state budget VND2.68 billion (US$151,000).

Clause 3 of Article 165 of Vietnam’s Criminal Law states that a person who commits a crime that costs the state budget more than VND1 billion ($56,300) can be jailed for 10 to 20 years for the offense.

In 2008, Bui Tien Dung was sentenced by a Hanoi court to 13 years imprisonment after being found guilty of gambling and paying bribes.

Last month another PMU19 official, 36-year Pham Tien Dung, died in detention of suspected diabetes. He was in prison awaiting the result of a police investigation into his involvement in the alleged embezzlement of VND3.5 billion ($197,000) at a construction project.

The PMU18 scandal also led to the imprisonment – and later release – of a former deputy transport minister. Two journalists were arrested over their reports on the case. One was released earlier this year.

(Source: Thanhnien)