Pharma firm ex-director sentenced 12 years for cancer medicine scam
Nguyen Minh Hung, the former director of HCM City-based VN Pharma JSC, has been sentenced 12 years in prison for the smuggling of cancer medicines and falsification of documents.
Hung’s staff namely Nguyen Tri Nhat and Ngo Anh Quoc who were both the former directors of VN Pharma face five years and four years in prison respectively; Phan Cam Loan, former head of VN Pharma’s im-export board and Le Thi Vu Phuong, the former accountant of the company, were sentenced to three years in prison each. Bui Ngoc Duy, former head of VN Pharma’s R&D board got two years and six months in prison.
Meanwhile, Vo Manh Cuong, director of H&C International Trading Shipping Company, also got 12 years for importing the drugs for VN Pharma.
Pham Anh Kiet, general director of Saigon Pharmaceutical Company and Hoang Van Thong, a pharmacist, suffer from the two-year suspended sentence for forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations.
According to the police investigation, in May 2014, VN Pharma won a contract from HCM City’s Health Department to supply cancer drugs.
Hung made a deal with Vo Manh Cuong, in which Cuong would help Hung to buy around 9,300 boxes of H-Capita 500mg made by Helix Pharmaceuticals Canada, to supply to hospitals in Vietnam.
Hung asked his staff to falsify technical documents related to the medicines as well as invoices to get an import license from Ministry of Health’s Drug Administration. The medicines arrived in Vietnam in April 2014.
In September 2014, the Ministry of Health asked police to clarify the origin of H-Capita following their doubts about the drug origin.
The importer failed to clarify the origin of the medicines after authorised agencies found that previously-submitted documents were falsified. The Drug Administration examined and found that the medicines were not qualified for human use.
Ngo Anh Quoc, VN Pharma’s former vice director, was also found to have paid bribes to doctors so that the medicines were prescribed to cancer patients.
Besides the smuggling of 9,300 H-Capita 500mg boxes, in the 2012-2014 period, Hung also instructed his staff to forge contracts signed with a Hong Kong firm for the import of batches of medicines such as H2K- Levofloxacin and H2K-Ciprofloxacin worth up to more than VND5 billion (USD220,000).
The HCM City People's Court has urged the police to investigate the responsibilities of some officials, including the Drug Administration’s deputy head Nguyen Tan Dat, who were in charge of appraising VN Pharma’s documents to smuggle the drugs.
Nguyen minh Hung at the court on August 25.
The conclusion was made Friday after the week-long trial conducted by the HCM City People’s Court.
The defendants at the trial
Hung’s staff namely Nguyen Tri Nhat and Ngo Anh Quoc who were both the former directors of VN Pharma face five years and four years in prison respectively; Phan Cam Loan, former head of VN Pharma’s im-export board and Le Thi Vu Phuong, the former accountant of the company, were sentenced to three years in prison each. Bui Ngoc Duy, former head of VN Pharma’s R&D board got two years and six months in prison.
Meanwhile, Vo Manh Cuong, director of H&C International Trading Shipping Company, also got 12 years for importing the drugs for VN Pharma.
Pham Anh Kiet, general director of Saigon Pharmaceutical Company and Hoang Van Thong, a pharmacist, suffer from the two-year suspended sentence for forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations.
According to the police investigation, in May 2014, VN Pharma won a contract from HCM City’s Health Department to supply cancer drugs.
Hung made a deal with Vo Manh Cuong, in which Cuong would help Hung to buy around 9,300 boxes of H-Capita 500mg made by Helix Pharmaceuticals Canada, to supply to hospitals in Vietnam.
Hung asked his staff to falsify technical documents related to the medicines as well as invoices to get an import license from Ministry of Health’s Drug Administration. The medicines arrived in Vietnam in April 2014.
In September 2014, the Ministry of Health asked police to clarify the origin of H-Capita following their doubts about the drug origin.
The importer failed to clarify the origin of the medicines after authorised agencies found that previously-submitted documents were falsified. The Drug Administration examined and found that the medicines were not qualified for human use.
Ngo Anh Quoc, VN Pharma’s former vice director, was also found to have paid bribes to doctors so that the medicines were prescribed to cancer patients.
Besides the smuggling of 9,300 H-Capita 500mg boxes, in the 2012-2014 period, Hung also instructed his staff to forge contracts signed with a Hong Kong firm for the import of batches of medicines such as H2K- Levofloxacin and H2K-Ciprofloxacin worth up to more than VND5 billion (USD220,000).
The HCM City People's Court has urged the police to investigate the responsibilities of some officials, including the Drug Administration’s deputy head Nguyen Tan Dat, who were in charge of appraising VN Pharma’s documents to smuggle the drugs.
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