13 former authorities officers in Luang Namtha have been sentenced to jail for corruption, after being discovered responsible of embezzling state funds, abusing their positions, and cash laundering.
On 3 September, the Folks’s Courtroom of Luang Namtha gathered on the Provincial Army Command to evaluate legal circumstances towards the accused.
Most of those officers had labored on a activity drive chargeable for stopping Covid-19 within the province. The courtroom discovered that they dedicated unlawful actions whereas facilitating the return of overseas nationals to their house nations.
The courtroom concluded that every one 13 defendants, together with one girl, had been responsible of a number of corruption expenses. In consequence, three of them acquired life sentences. One other official was sentenced to twenty years, whereas six had been sentenced to 10 years. Extra sentences included 9 years and 6 months, eight years and 6 months, and 4 years and 6 months.
Probably the most outstanding figures sentenced was a former member of the provincial celebration committee and the deputy governor of Luang Namtha. The courtroom discovered him responsible of embezzling state belongings, accepting bribes, and laundering cash. He acquired a life sentence, a superb of LAK 826 million (USD 37,565), and was ordered to return the stolen funds.
One other high-ranking official, who served because the chairman of the Lao Entrance for Nationwide Growth in Luang Namtha, acquired a 20-year sentence. He was discovered responsible of comparable expenses, together with embezzlement and abuse of energy. The courtroom imposed a superb of LAK 311 million (USD 14,156) and required him to return the stolen belongings.
The courtroom additionally convicted a retired deputy chief of the Public Safety Command in Luang Namtha. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail for misappropriating state property and abusing his authority. Moreover, the courtroom fined him LAK 5 million (USD 237) and ordered the return of all misappropriated belongings.