Former Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has submitted an appeal requesting a suspended sentence and a reduction in the compensation amount imposed on her. Recently, she was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 108 billion VND due to her involvement in two abandoned hospital projects. The Hanoi People's Court has received appeals from all ten defendants following the initial trial.

In addition to Tien, two former officials from the Ministry of Health, Nguyen Chien Thang, the former director of the Major Health Project Management Board, and Tran Van Sinh, a former head of the department, have also appealed for lighter sentences and reduced compensation amounts. Thang received the highest sentence in the case, with 30 years in prison and a compensation obligation of 393 billion VND, while Sinh was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay 8.3 billion VND.

Nguyen Huu Tuan, another former director of the Major Health Project Management Board, has appealed against the entire verdict, seeking a reduction in both his sentence and compensation amount. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and required to pay 223.5 billion VND. Other defendants have also appealed for lighter sentences, suspended sentences, or reductions in the amounts they must pay, and have requested the lifting of asset freezes.

This case is set to be reviewed by the High People's Court in Hanoi in the near future. The initial court found this case to be a clear example of misappropriation and waste of state assets. However, the defendants claimed they faced significant pressure during the project due to its large scale and tight deadlines, with some lacking deep expertise in investment and construction.

According to the verdict, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien held the fourth highest position in the case and did not directly cause the consequences but made errors in approving plans related to the selection of consulting firms. This was identified as a foundational mistake leading to subsequent violations in the project phases.

Moreover, Tien was found to have received 7.5 billion VND from subordinates, part of a total of 100 billion VND that contractors paid to the project management board. Violations occurred in the investment project for the construction of the second facility of Bach Mai Hospital and Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, which was approved in 2014 with a total investment of nearly 10 trillion VND. Allegations indicate that violations spanned from selecting foreign consulting firms to tendering processes and construction execution.

Nguyen Chien Thang was accused of facilitating contract wins for businesses, in exchange for which contractors were required to pay the project management board an amount equivalent to 5% of the contract value before tax. Consequently, Thang and Nguyen Huu Tuan were found to have received over 100 billion VND from contractors, which was subsequently used for various purposes and distributed among individuals.

During the court proceedings, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien accepted responsibility as Minister, acknowledging her mistakes in pressuring subordinates. She stated that her intentions were sincere, aiming to establish hospitals that would serve the public for centuries, although the outcomes were disappointing. Tien claimed to have only received 7.5 billion VND from Thang and Tuan, not the nearly 20 billion VND they alleged. She fundamentally acknowledged the accusations but expressed concerns regarding the calculation of damages. The prosecution maintained that the project, which has been neglected for a decade, serves as the clearest evidence of waste, depriving thousands of patients of care opportunities.