A Vietnamese military official and former editor-in-chief of a local newspaper has asked the Ministry of Public Security to clear his name after accusations of corruption were posted to Facebook by a local lawyer.

Lieutenant General Huu Uoc, former editor-in-chief of the Cong An Nhan Dan (People’s Police) newspaper, submitted a document to the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Department of Police on Tuesday, asking for an investigation into his case.

Lt. Gen. Uoc stated that he was defamed and slandered on Facebook after Tran Dinh Trien, chief of a local law firm, posted accusations alleging the military official’s role in a public property corruption scandal to his Facebook page on May 12.

In the Facebook post, Trien addressed the accountability of Uoc in the inappropriate use of two land projects in the capital city that were approved by competent agencies for the Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper.

The first piece of land, measuring over 5,000 square meters in area in Tu Liem District, was awarded by authorities to establish the newspaper's new headquarters in 2002.

Shortly after, another publication merged into Cong An Nhan Dan and the allotted land became insufficient to house the new facility, resulting in Uoc requesting a larger plot from the municipal People’s Committee.

In his Facebook denunciation, the lawyer implied that the original piece of land was handed over to another company by the former editor-in-chief.

In another real estate scandal alleged by the lawyer, local authorities granted a 23,000 square meter plot to Cong An Nhan Dan to construct accommodations for its managers and employees, with Gia Loc Phat Company being selected by the newspaper as the investor.

The firm then sold off several areas of the plot to other companies at a combined value of VND200 billion (US$8.96m) before Uoc returned the land to local authorities, saying that his newspaper no longer needed it.

According to the lawyer, Uoc took advantage of his position to benefit from the two land projects.

‘I did not commit such violations’

In an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Lt. Gen. Uoc asserted that Tien’s accusation had slandered his name.

“I did not commit such violations,” the former editor-in-chief said.

According to the military general, the first piece of land was given to the newspaper before his appointment.

Uoc said that during his tenure as editor-in-chief he discovered that local residents had built houses around the land plot. The area was later included in the Hanoi People’s Committee’s project to establish a new park.

He then assigned Le Kim Chi, an official at the newspaper, to return the area to local authorities, Uoc stated.

Regarding the second project, after noticing that Gia Loc Phat, which was referred by Chi as its investor, was selling off parts of the piece of land, the editorial board decided to return it to local authorities and publicly terminate their contract with the firm, according to Lt. Gen. Uoc.

‘All of the information is sensible’

Since posting the allegation, Trien has remained confident in his denunciation, claiming he has all the appropriate evidence to substantiate the former editor-in-chief’s role in both scandals.

“I have studied the case file very carefully and am sure that all the information I’ve written about Uoc’s wrongdoings is sensible,” the lawyer said.

According to Trien, he began looking into the case against Uoc after Chi came to his office for a legal consultation in preparation for a probe by authorities for his role in the second land project.

The lawyer stated that he would be willing to provide information regarding the case upon request by competent authorities.

“I will take accountability if my denunciation is untrue, but if his violations are verified, Uoc will have to be punished as per the law,” Trien said.

With regard to the Facebook post, Trien claims that his freedom of speech protects him from repercussion, adding that the post is aimed at protecting interests and property of the state and people.

He added he has sent his accusations to the Ministry of Public Security as well.

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