VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly Committee for Deputies Affairs will re-examine the eligibility of new member Dang Thi Hoang Yen following allegations that she was once prosecuted for treason and bribed voters, Nguyen Thi Nuong, the committee chairwoman has said.

NA deputy Dang Thi Hoang Yen. (Photo: Dat Viet)

But newspapers have been making accusations against her.

Cuu Chien Binh (War Veterans) recently alleged in a story that Yen had colluded with some agencies to steal state secrets and provide them to foreign contractors.

In March 1998 she was indicted by the Ministry of Public Security for “deliberately revealing state secrets and appropriating state secrets” while bidding for an electricity project, it said.
She later “fled to the US” after her offenses were discovered and returned to Vietnam 10 years later in 2008 with her husband Timmy Tran, it added.

Nguoi Cao Tuoi (The Elderly People) alleged in an article titled “Showing gratitude or buying off voters?” in its August 4 issue that Yen had spent a lot of money before the elections in Duc Hoa, Duc Hue, Thu Thua, and Ben Luc Districts in Long An where she contested.

She met 1,300 older war veterans on April 29 to mark Liberation Day on April 30, and, at the end of the meeting, gave everyone an envelope containing VND500,000 (US$24) as a “gift of gratitude” for their contribution to the fatherland, the story said further.

Nuong said: “We have got approval from the NA Standing Committee for a review and we will coordinate with competent agencies to verify the allegations. We are collecting further information and evidence.”

“After considering the accusatory letters, including anonymous ones, we will consult the Standing Committee about how to conduct a review of Yen’s eligibility.”

Asked when the process would be finished, she said the work “must be conducted in a calm and prudent manner but the committee will try to arrive at a conclusion soon.”

Yen rejects allegations

In a recent interview to An Ninh The Gioi (World Security) newspaper, Yen rejected all the allegations against her by both newspapers saying they were groundless and very offensive to her.

She neither knew about the so-called prosecution in 1998 nor “fled to the US and was hunted,” she said. She had gone to the US in 2002 for business and returned to Vietnam five years later, she said.

“I have never been indicted for any crime.”

She also denied the allegation that she had bought off voters saying the meeting to honor the veterans was held by the Long An Province People’s Committee.

“We only gave 1,300 gifts at the ceremony. If they say the Tan Tao Group and I bribed voters with such gifts, then they have made a groundless accusation against me and have badly offended voters,” Yen said.

The Tan Tao Group had sponsored charitable programs for the last 17 years, giving hundreds of billions of dong [VND100 billion = $4.8 million], she said.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre