Prosecutors to apologise for 10 years of wrongful charges
Source: 17-MAY-2008 Intellasia | Thanh Nien | Tuoi Tre
May 17, 2008 - 7:06:00 AM Prosecutors from the southern city of Can Tho will publicly apologise to businessperson Nguyen Dinh Chien for wrongfully putting him behind bars for 28 months in 1996.

The apology will take place at Chien's house in the northern province of Bac Giang today.

The People's Supreme Court in HCM City, where Chien's case was appealed, ordered the Can Tho People's Procuracy, which serves as the local prosecutor's office, to compensate Chien for 28 months of being in Can Tho police custody as well as some 10 years of investigations and accusations.

The amount of monetary compensation has yet to be decided, but it will be delivered to Chien at the meeting today.

The order follows a second appeal before the People's Supreme Court in HCM City, which acquitted Chien of all charges in July, 2006 after 10 years of legal limbo.

In December 2006, Chien sent a letter to authorities asking for dong 568 billion (US$35.2 million) in compensation to make up for 10 years of lost profits due to the closing of his business after his arrest.

The case began in September, 1996 when Can Tho police accused Chien, then president of a real estate company in the northern province of Hai Phong, for appropriating public assets.

Chien allegedly owed a total of over dong 152 billion (US$9.4 million) to several state-run companies.

He had acquired the debt, half of which he could not pay, through loans and goods purchases he did not pay for.

Beginning October 1, 1996, Chien was then in police custody for 28 months while an investigation ensued.

Can Tho prosecutors brought the case to the local court, which found Chien guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in prison in 1998.

In January, 1999 an appeal before the People's Supreme Court in HCM City found Chien innocent and he was released.

The People's Procuracy and the People's Court of Can Tho then asked for further investigations.

In early 2002, the People's Supreme Court threw out all previous findings and ordered that the case be completely reinvestigated from the beginning.

Chien's legal battle finally ended after a second appeal in July, 2006 found him innocent as Can Tho prosecutors were unable to produce any evidence against him.

Chien was then set free.

Since reopening his Hai Phong business in mid-April last year, Chien has paid off dong 200 million (US$12,500) worth of debt.