The Ministry of Finance has just proposed that the People's Supreme Court ask those involved in the miscarriage of justice that saw Huynh Van Nen convicted to pay out compensation for their wrongdoings.

 Huynh Van Nen at a trial in 2000.

In a recent document sent to the People's Supreme Court about the transfer of VND10 billion (USD440,000) from the state budget to the Binh Thuan Provincial People's Court to compensate an innocent man who was sentenced to prison, the ministry said that the supreme court should be responsible for getting those involved in this case to repay the sum. 

"The People's Supreme Court is responsible for directing the compensation work following the Law on State Compensation Liability and report to the Ministry of Finance," the document said.

The Law on State Compensation Liability stipulates that after compensating the victims, the compensator will set up a working team to consider the responsibilities of each individual involved, which will then be defined by votes.

Huynh Van Nen and the Binh Thuan People's Court agreed on the compensation payout of VND10 bn on April 25. 

The court agreed to compensate VND5.3bn (USD233,000) for Nen's mental anguish, VND2.3bn for his health, VND1.2 for his lost income and VND1.2bn for other losses.

Nen and his family previously demanded a VND18bn (USD792,000) in compensation and later settled at VND10bn.

Nen was arrested on May 17, 1998 for the killing Le Thi Bong. During the investigation, Nen was also wrongfully charged with the murder of Duong Thi My which took place in March 1993. He was then incorrectly sentenced to a life sentence by the provincial people's court for killing Bong and six years of imprisonment for killing My.

Nine of his relatives were also imprisoned for the murder of My. In 2000, they were released as it was proved that Nen was not My's killer, however, he was still believed to be Bong's murderer.

In 2014, the Supreme People's Procuracy were informed that Nguyen Tho could be the real killer. Many lawyers offered to help Nen finally be released. Nen was finally released on October 22, 2014, following a decision by the local People's Procuracy.

The Binh Thuan Province's Police Department, the People's Court and the local People's Procuracy have all publicly apologised to Huynh Van Nen for his 18 years of wrongful imprisonment on December 3, 2015.  

dtinews