DakNong (VNA) - The People’s Court of the Central Highlands province of DakNong has handed sentences to a whistleblower-turned-bribe-giver and sevenothers for taking bribes.

Accordingly,Tran Minh Loi, who owned the Facebook account Diet giac noi xam (Fightingagainst internal invaders)--focusing on fighting corruption--was sentencedfour-and-a-half years for handing out bribes worth 90 million VND (4,000 USD).

Othersinvolved in the case including Nguyen Xuan An, sentenced one year and nine daysimprisonment (released in court for already finishing the sentence), Huynh KimCao Tri, sentenced one year imprisonment for bribing 60 million VND (nearly 2,700USD).

Threedefendants—Huynh Thi Cao Thuong, Truong Thi Lan and Nguyen Thi Ty --receivednine months suspended for giving bribes of 60 million VND.

LanhThanh Binh, former police officer in Dak Mil district, was sentenced one-and-a-halfyears suspended on charges of taking advantage of his influence to seekpersonal benefits. The court also confiscated 90 million VND that thedefendants had committed.

Adefendant of another case related to Loi, Nguyen Van Phuc, former director of DaiLoc Transaction Office under Dak Lak Branch of the Bank of Agriculture andRural Development, was sentenced two-and-a-half years for receiving bribes of 30million VND from Loi in 2014. He was also barred from holding office for threeyears after imprisonment.

OnMarch 22, the Dak Nong People’s Court issued the first-instance trial of thecase.

Accordingto indictments, the police of Dak Mil district caught six gamblers red-handedwhen they were playing the illegal xoc dia (a gambling with coins) on January15 this year. After that, the relatives of the gamblers contacted Lieutenant LanhThanh Binh to ask for ways to free the gamblers from detainment.

Afterreceiving Binh’s assistance, the gamblers’ family members--including NguyenXuan An, Huynh Kim Cao Tri, Huynh Cao Thi Thuong, Nguyen Thi Ty and Truong Thi Lan--contactedTran Minh Loi, who was said to have many experiences in denouncing andreporting corruption in the Central Highlands. Loi guided those people to givemoney to Binh but insisted on filming the transaction.

An,Lan and Tri gave Binh 60 million VND at a café on January 21. All acts oftaking and receiving money were recorded as evidence for Loi to accuse Binh oftaking bribes.

However,after obtaining the evidence, Loi did not immediately report the case but usedthe evidence to threaten and force Binh to influence the investigative agencyto release the detained gamblers and return money to their families.

Whenknowing that Loi was holding the evidence, Binh came to Loi to ask for pardonbut was refused.

OnFebruary 24, Binh reported the receipt of 60 million VND to Dak Mil districtPolice and denounced Loi’s threatening.

Furtherinvestigations showed that in April 2014, because of wanting to borrow bankloans with low interest rates, Loi had contacted Nguyen Van Phuc, formerDirector of the Dai Loc Transaction Office, Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment in Dak Lak, and Nguyen Duc Trong, a bank staffer, to propose to aloan of 1.8 billion VND (about 80,000 USD). In return, Loi promised to offer 150million VND (about 6,700 USD) if Phuc and Trong created conditions for theloan.-VNA