The new verdict was made instead of the three-year term to which he was sentenced at the first instance trial last September.

The court also ordered Si’s deputy on the project, Le Qua, to serve a five-year jail term instead of the previous sentence of two years.

Both were convicted of “abusing position and power while in the commission of their duties”, according to the court, which accepted the proposal by the Municipal People’s Procuracy on increasing the prison terms of both ex-officials.

At the appeal, both Si and Qua sought suspended sentences, but the judgement came down in favour of the proposal by the municipal procuracy to lengthen the sentences.

Si, who was also former deputy director of HCM City’s Department of Transport, along with Le Qua, misappropriated funds earned from leasing a State-owned house on Nguyen Thi Dieu Street in District 3 to Japan’s Pacific Consultants International (PCI).

The money received from the contract between August 2001 and November 2002, estimated at around VND1.2 billion (US$66,500), was excluded in official accounts and disbursed among 87 officials working on the project.

Si took VND52 million and Qua pocketed VND54 million from the contract. The two officials also used VND350 million for “treating guests”.

The case was brought to light following the Japanese Government’s suggestion that Vietnam investigate allegations of PCI officials paying bribes in order to be awarded contracts.