A deputy health minister who has recently been under the scanner for dubious loans from subordinates is now involved in another scandal: political police confirmed he has not obtained the doctoral degree that he lists on his official CV.

A business card of Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang Photo: Phap Luat TP. HCM

After investigation, investigators from the Internal Political Security Department under the Ministry of Public Security confirmed that Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang has yet to obtain the doctoral degree in pharmacy.

The verification of the official’s diploma was conducted after authorities received an accusation that Quang falsely claimed that he has a PhD in Pharmacy, Phap Luat TP. HCM (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper reported.

The denunciation comes from Ngo Minh Nho, a resident in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department said.

In his Curriculum Vitae, Quang declares that he got a certificate of Licentiate of Pharmaceutical Sciences that he claims is equivalent to a doctoral degree in Pharmacy, from the Uppsala University in Sweden.

Thus, Quang has the words “PhD in Pharmacy” printed on his business cards.

However, the university recently confirmed that the certificate it granted to Quang on October 26, 1994 is merely a certificate required for pursuing the PhD program, the department said in a document dated September 13, 2011 in reply to the denunciation.

According to the university’s confirmation, Quang studied at the school from 1992 to 1994 and was granted the certificate, not a diploma, for his research titled “Photochemical evaluation of Choerospandias axillaris, a Vietnamese medical plant used to treat burns,” the department said.

The department also revealed that a certain “Deputy Minister of Education and Training who was about to retire has certified that Quang’s certificate is equivalent to a doctoral degree”. Police have withheld this education official’s name.

Deputy Minister Quang is also facing another scandal. BV Pharma, pharmaceutical company, accuses him of being pressured into lending him VND2 billion (US$96,000) in 2007.

Talking with Tuoi Tre, Quang said he fully repaid both the principal and interest totaling VND2.2 billion when the loan fell due in June 2008.

“The allegation that I forced BV Pharma to give me the loan and recently ordered an inspection into the firm’s business is a slander”, Quang said.