A customs officer in Ho Chi Minh City has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for taking bribes.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court announced its final ruling regarding the violation of Nguyen Truong Duy, former public servant of the control team under the municipal Department of Customs, on Tuesday evening.

Duy was given a 12-year jail term for abusing his power to receive bribes totaling VND541.9 million ($23,843) from 50 businesses.

The money Duy had illegally pocketed was also confiscated and added to the state budget.

During the two-day trial, the defendant did not plead guilty, but the court had sufficient evidence proving his offenses.

According to the indictment, from January to December 2015, the ex-customs officer asked local businesses to pay him a certain amount of money in order for their imported goods not to be inspected.

The inspection is mandatory when a firm declares their imports to the customs department.

Duy picked his own house, located on Tran Khac Chan Street in District 1, and his office in Cat Lai Port (District 2) as the places where the illicit transactions were carried out.

He also asked his mother to help him collect the bribes from the firms.

The businesses that agreed to pay the bribes were not criminally charged as they had been willing to provide necessary information for the investigation.

No penalty was imposed upon Nguyen Thi Thuy Nhien, Duy’s mother, as she was not considered an accomplice.

Judges asked competent authorities to investigate the involvement of Bui Thanh Chung, former deputy chief of the customs control team, who is now deputy head of the customs department in Linh Trung Export Processing Zone in Thu Duc District.

Chung was accused of signing false documents of customs inspections to abet Duy.

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