A former Vietnamese traffic police officer, who caused a road accident that killed two people and injured seven others of a paramilitary group on patrol in 2014, has been condemned to five years in prison, along with a ruling that he must pay damages to the victims.

The People’s Court in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on Tuesday sentenced 30-year-old Pham Hong Tuan, an ex-traffic policeman, to a jail term totaling five years.

The court also required the convict to incur the financial compensation worth over VND600 million (US$26,778) paid to the families of the deceased and wounded.

According to court documents, Tuan was driving a BMW 750i on My Xuan – Xa Giao Street on December 6, 2014 when he lost his control over the steering wheel and crashed his car into the left sidewalk, where nine militiamen were gathering to prepare for a patrol.

The accident killed Ho Xuan Thu, 54, Vo Xuan Dong, 39, and injured seven others, one of whom, 35-year-old Mai Van Quoc, was then paralyzed.

Investigation later showed that the license plate of the vehicle which Tuan used was fake, and that the owner of the car was Ho Dai Duong, a friend of his.

The cop was then found guilty of violating traffic regulations.

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