New developments in the corruption scandal at the Ministry of Transport’s Project Management Unit 18 (PMU 18) have continued to capture great attention from the public these days. Perhaps, former deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Viet Tien, one of the main culprits of the scandal, appeared in the spotlight with pictures and related stories repeatedly run by media agencies.
A local newspaper front-paged a wide picture of Tien leaving his house with a police escort. Perhaps, it stemmed from public outrage over corruption.

The scope and scale of the case and daring acts of those involved in the ring caused a great public shock after the investigation agency unveiled the ins and outs of the graft scandal. It was a rare corruption case in the history of the transport sector as its leader admitted. Many people, who still find it hard to earn several thousands of Vietnamese dong for their daily meals, could not have imagined that Bui Tien Dzung and his gamblers threw millions of US dollars into gambling games.

The UK has a saying “easy come, easy go”. All the money they earned illegally was poured into gambling games and unhealthy lifestyles, leading to serious consequences. 

People wondered why such acts committed by those corrupt official have only come to light recently. They raised suspicion about annual titles of “strong and healthy Party units” and “good Party members” awarded to the ministry’s Party organisations.

At a working session with the Ministry of Transport’s Party Board after the case was uncovered, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai raised a question, which seemed not to be easily answered. The question was “Why didn’t the Party Board and Party organisations at the department level know, uncover or report those ranking officials who had committed offences for a long time?”
In conclusion, he blamed the ministry’s Party organisations, administration and trade union for their lax personnel management.

There is another question which should be taken into account. Will people feel at ease when a great amount of State investment capital and foreign loans is transferred to such an apparatus, which is running the risk of poor management and corruption?

Mr Khai said this was a bitter lesson not only for the ministry itself, but also other sectors, which are not monitoring and supervising developments in the management decentralisation process.

As a stark fact of life, evils will be brought to light in the end. PMU 18 investigations are underway and more thrilling details are expected to come out soon. Senior officials have said that all offences committed by anyone regardless of their ranks or social status should be strictly punished to restore people’s trust.