Police in Hai Phong City have seized the police chief of a commune for forging papers for a former anti-smuggling officer to use them in helping Duong Chi Dung, former chairman of Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), hide from authorities until his arrest in early September.

>> Police hunt for man who helped former Vinalines head hide>> Ex-official Duong Chi Dung extradited to Hanoi>> No proof wanted marine chief paid to hide: police>> New manhunt for maritime leader Duong Chi Dung Vu Van Sau, 44, chief of police of An Tho Commune, An Lao District, is suspected of having counterfeited papers for Dong Xuan Phong, 38, a former anti-smuggling officer in Hai Phong City, to use while Phong was assisting Dung in hiding from police after Dung fled on May 17. Dung, 55, who was also former director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, was arrested on September 4 under an international wanted notice for alleged economic offenses when he was board chairman of state-owned Vinalines. According to investigators, on November 2, 2011 Sau gave Dong an ID card bearing the name Hoang Van Linh, but with Phong’s photo shown. Dong later used this false card in applying for a passport under the name of Linh and then used it in helping Dung flee Vietnam. As previously reported, Dung was nabbed in another Southeast Asian nation and was extradited to Vietnam by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). After his arrest, the ministry’s investigation agency found that a number of people, including Phong, had helped Dung hide from police. Phong has been indicted for “hiding criminals”, but he fled his residence in mid-July and has been wanted ever since. Dung has been charged with “intentionally flouting state regulations on economic management, leading to serious consequences” when selecting bidders to provide a floating dock worth millions of dollars for Vinalines during his term at the corporation. The agency has also accused Dung and his accomplices of going against the Prime Minister’s directives on the construction of a Vinalines ship repair facility in southern Vietnam. It was then found that the state firm wasted almost VND514 billion ($24.6 million) of the available cash while buying a floating dock from Russia. Signs of corruption have been identified in this spending.