Former Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong was given four years in jail in the first-instance trial of the case relating to the trading of counterfeit medicine labelled as Health 2000 Canada; lack of responsibilities causing serious consequences; and abuse of positions and power while on duty, which took place in HCM City, some other localities and at the Health Ministry’s Drug Administration (DAV).

The Hanoi People’s Court imposed the sentence on Cuong on May 19 for the lack of responsibilities causing serious consequences.

Two other defendants, Nguyen Viet Hung, former deputy director of the DAV; and Le Dinh Thanh, a former official of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department -  were sentenced to three years and two years respectively, on the same charge as Cuong.

Two former officials of the DAV – Pham Hong Chau and Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy – got four years for abusing positions and power while on duty.  

Nine other defendants were given imprisonments ranging from 6 years to 20 years for trading counterfeit medicine.

According to the verdict of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, as head of the DAV from 2007 to 2016, Cuong failed to fulfil his responsibility in supervising and inspecting the work of experts in assessing and granting licences for seven kinds of drugs, leading to the approval of dossiers for the import and consumption of the six out of the seven counterfeit drugs, labelled Health 2000, in Vietnam with a total value of over 148 billion VND.

After the drugs were imported and consumed in Vietnam, although he received information about the suspected origins of the drugs, Cuong did not give direction to stop their circulation, or recall and destroy the drugs. As a result, domestic medical establishments continued to use supplied counterfeit drugs labelled Health 2000 Canada without clear origins to treat patients at a total value of over 3.7 billion VND. 

Meanwhile, former DAV deputy director Hung did not perform properly his assigned tasks and duties thus failing to detect and stop wrongdoings of his subordinates in assessing and licensing the drugs.