VietNamNet Bridge – Authorities in Kien Giang Province have been tasked to coordinate with the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to retrieve 1,029 original land use rights certificates reportedly missing on Phu Quoc Island District, a senior police official said.

Illustrative image. Kien Giang Police is investigating the missing of 1,029 original certificates for land use rights at land registration office in Phu Quoc Island District. — Photo batdongsan.com

The police has sent a notice to banks in the province about the missing documents, commonly known as "red books".

According to Colonel Luu Thanh Tin, deputy director of the Kien Giang Police Department, the move was taken in response to the risk that some people could take advantage of the red books to falsify papers and mortgages.

The certificates had allegedly been missing since 2014. 

The incident was detected in March last year as the police investigated a criminal case involving embezzlement and lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences, at the land registration office in Phu Quoc District. 

According to investigators, Pham Thi Ngoc Anh was assigned as the accountant and treasurer managing the fees collected from Phu Quoc’s Land Registration Office from 2013 to June 2016.

In order to scam the money for personal expenses, Anh modified 128 receipts to illegally appropriate nearly VND2.5 billion (US$108,500) from the office.

Tran Van Hoang, former director, and Tran Van Kien, former deputy director, are accused of not performing their duties or supervising the fee declarations and receipts, creating loopholes for Anh to take large sums of money.

At the first trial which was held on April 11 this year, Anh was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “property embezzlement” by Kien Giang Province People’s Court, while Hoang and Kien were imprisoned for one year for “negligent responsibility, causing severe consequences”.

Source: VNS