In the process of working and communicating, the litigant recorded the judge’s actions to report to the investigation agency.
The Supreme People’s Procuracy Investigation Agency has concluded the investigation and transferred the case file to the Supreme People’s Procuracy to propose prosecuting Mr. Vo Dinh Som, judge of the People’s Court of Gia Lai province, for “receiving bribes”.
Mr. Vo Dinh Som was assigned to resolve the civil case “Dispute over land use rights” between the plaintiff, Mr. Phan Anh Tuan (residing in Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province) and the defendant, the Protection Forest Management Board (BOM). ) North Tonle Sap Lake.
During the process of resolving the case, Mr. Vo Dinh Som asked Mr. Tuan for 1.5 billion VND to win the case. On August 4, 2023, Mr. Som received 500 million VND in advance from Mr. Tuan right in his office. The above behavior of defendant Vo Dinh Som committed the crime of “Receiving bribes”.
According to the investigation conclusion, Mr. Phan Anh Tuan submitted 8 audio files recording the exchange and demanding money to win Mr. Som’s lawsuit.
The Institute of Criminal Sciences (Ministry of Public Security) has assessed and determined that the recording files have no traces of cutting, editing or editing audio content. The voices of the characters in the recording files are those of Mr. Phan Anh Tuan and Mr. Vo Dinh Som.
Besides, there is also the voice of a lawyer introduced by Mr. Som. This lawyer has been determined not to be involved in the case.
What prison sentence can a judge who accepts bribes face?
The above behavior of Mr. Vo Dinh Som committed the crime of “Receiving bribes” specified in Point a, Clause 4, Article 354 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Point a, Clause 4, Article 354 stipulates that bribery is money, property or other material benefits worth 1 billion VND or more, the penalty is from 20 years in prison to death penalty. Mr. Vo Dinh Som has no circumstances aggravating his criminal liability.
Regarding extenuating circumstances, Mr. Som declared his work history, was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee and had a father who was a martyr. However, the family and defense attorney have not provided the above documents to the investigation agency, so there is no basis to consider circumstances mitigating criminal liability.