VietNamNet Bridge - Pending approval of the central government for early retirement, Chairman of Tra Vinh province now faces discipline for his mistake in a large project.

Tra Vinh's Chairman Tran Khieu.

Tra Vinh Province Inspectorate has published its report on inspection results at the Management Board of Tra Vinh Economic Zones. This agency has also proposed to penalize many key officials for financial mistakes.

Specifically, the agency proposed to criticize Chairman Tran Khieu and Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Phong for approving a policy that leads to the misuse of VND70 billion ($3.5 million) from the state budget for explosive clearance at the Cau Quan industry zone.

Mr. Tong Minh Vien, Head of the Tra Vinh Party Committee’s Public Relations Division, was also proposed for being penalized for his involvement in a drainage project at the Long Duc Industrial Park.

Khieu, Phong and Vien were former head of the Management Board of Tra Vinh Economic Zones.

Another former head of Management Board of Tra Vinh Economic Zones, Mr. Duong Van Ken, who is now the director of the Tra Vinh Department of Trade and Industry, is identified to approve the misuse of over VND500 million. The current head – Mr. Le Tan Luc – was also determined to wrongly spend nearly VND200 million and be responsible for his deputy, Le Van Kham’s approval for wrong spending of nearly VND1 billion.

Two months ago, the Tra Vinh Party Standing Committee permitted the province’s Chairman Tran Khieu, 59, to retire early because of poor health. Khieu also said that although his retirement age is to come in over one year, he wanted to leave this place immediately in order to "create conditions for the younger generation."

Khieu’s decision came after the rumor of his "intimate relationship" with Ms. Tran Hong Ly, 34, Deputy Chief of the Business and Labor Management Division of the Tra Vinh Economic Zone Management Board. Ly is said to count on Khieu’s power to do wrong things.

On the night of January 7, Ly rushed into the head office of the Tra Vinh People’s Committee, used a brick to break the glass window of Khieu’s car and beat a police officer. Before that, Ly disturbed at Khieu’s home in order to make clear the rumor that Khieu’s wife had compared Ly with an “internal prostitute.”

Ly was expelled from the Party for violating ethical lifestyle, discredit herself and her agency and was penalized by the Management Board of Tra Vinh Economic Zone.

Referring to the relationship with Lya, Khieu said when he was in the army; Ly's family fostered and hid him so he owns this family a debt of gratitude. "My family and Ms. Ly’s family are close as brothers in a family. I affirm that we have never exceeded the limit of a brother and a sister," said Khieu.

Ly also affirmed: "The relation between I and Mr. Khieu is the relationship between a leader and an employee because Mr. Khieu used to be the chief of the Tra Vinh Economic Zone. I and Mr. Khieu are fellow-countrymen. His driver’s wife is my relative."

Ly is single but she is now pregnant.

Mr. Tran Khieu was born in May 1954 in An Truong commune, Cang Long district, Tra Vinh province. After the country’s unification, he was the Deputy Secretary of the Cuu Long Province Youth Union, Deputy Chief of the Administrative Organization, Chief Inspector of Tra Vinh and Cang Long district’s Party Secretary in 2003. In 2004, he was the Vice-president of Tra Vinh Province. In June 2011 he was elected as Chairman of Tra Vinh in the 2011-2016 period.

The central government has not approved Khieu’s early retirement petition yet so he is still the chairman of Tra Vinh.

Tran Cham