Admirable stories were shared at the 1st ceremony celebrating anti-corruption which honoured 88 individuals for their anti-corruption achievements.

Each participant brought lively stories on anti-corruption to the conference

Duong Thi My Anh burst into tears at the beginning of her speech at the ceremony, held in Hanoi on September 7. She has been very patient and energetic in fighting against corruption. Being the treasurer of the Urban Construction Unit of Cai Rang District, Can Tho City; Anh uncovered and exposed a lot of wrongdoings committed by leaders of the unit and the Can Tho Urban Construction Company, such as asset misappropriation, bribery and value added invoice illegal trading.

People who were denounced by Anh took revenge in many ways including not paying her wages and firing her. Furthermore, she had two serious accidents however, she has not determined whether somebody deliberately caused them. She also realises that if she gave up, that would be exactly what corrupt individuals would want. Thus, she remained determined not to do this.

Finally, her efforts were rewarded. Can Tho’s functional authorities took investigation then concluded that her denouncement was true. Corrupted assets were revoked and punishment was imposed on those who were involved.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, living at Yen Phu Ward, Tay Ho District, Hanoi said that she did not know whether she should smile or cry for being invited to the conference because she was beat before going to the event. Revenge was taken against her many times because she exposed cases of illegal land occupation.

“Bad people tried many tricks to threaten me, saying that they would kill me and destroy my family’s assets. But I will fight against corruption until it does not exist anymore,” shared Hoa.

She added that she would not stop combating corruption because many people supported her and doctors would treat her if she got any wounds.

In years past, Hoa exposed many wrongdoings related to illegal land occupation at her ward. One of them was that auditors inspected and discovered local officials had illegally recieved VND39 billion ($1.98 million).

The speech of Le Dao, 84, former provincial commissioner and Party Secretary of Duc Trong District, Lam Dong Province, was applauded by many people. He and several other retired officers discovered violations of the chairman and vice chairman of Duc Trong District.

Dao said that during the past 10 years, he was trying his best to handle challenges, dangers and traps in the anti-corruption battle. Dao and his team have helped authorities revoke nearly VND30 billion ($1.5 million) so far.

Two district level officers have been penalised. However, Dao said that it’s unreasonable when another two provincial level officers who committed wrongdoings but were promoted. Moreover, there are officers who had violations but were granted medals.

Hoang Van Khanh, general director of Hai Phong Texile Garment Exporting Joint Stock Company coordinated with the police to catch Doan Tien Dung, former vice general director of the Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam (BIDV) asking for a bribery worth VND1 billion ($51,000).

However, Khanh shared that after his denouncement, his company had to bear consequences. His company cannot withdraw money frozen by BIDV so he did not have enough money to pay taxes or wages. Eventually, his company had to sell machines and equipment to avoid bankruptcy. But, this is just a temporary solution. He has asked for support from high level authorities who attended the conference so that his company can get out of the difficult circumstance.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong spoke with participants during the lunch break

As part of the event, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong affirmed this conference was a recognition for individuals who have gained achievements in fighting against corruption.

He appreciated the contribution of individuals who are brave enough to expose corruption and he also considered their contribution as a big sacrifice.

Trong said that anti-corruption activities have made positive moves. However, corruption is still happening in a very complicated manner, especially in terms of land management.

Additionally, he requested the Ministry of Public Security to complete early regulations protecting those who exposed corruption.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has also been requested to finalise a policy praising those who expose corruption.

Also, he requested that those involved in corruption cases reported by individuals who attended this event be punished appropriately.