Sharing of the principal sentenced to 7 years in prison for 'embezzling' 10.7 million VND

TPO - After being released on bail, the principal in Ca Mau - who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for embezzlement of more than 10 million VND, shared his emotional thoughts. He hopes to be considered for financial violations.

After a day of returning home after being released on bail, Mr. Tran Van Tam - former Principal of Tam Giang Tay Secondary School (Tan An Commune, Ca Mau Province) is still overwhelmed with emotion. Mr. Tam said he returned home in Phan Ngoc Hien Commune at around 11pm yesterday, after exactly 1 year of detention.

"The moment I was notified of my release on bail to gather my belongings, I was very emotional. I am grateful to my wife and relatives who have endured a lot of hardships for the past year because of my case," Mr. Tam said emotionally, adding that in just one night, he received dozens of calls from relatives, students, and colleagues to encourage him.

Teacher Tam told about the time he was arrested for buying equipment for the school.

Talking about his future wishes, Mr. Tam said that he only hopes that the court and the authorities will consider the case in a reasonable manner, so that he can return home soon to help his family. He hopes that his actions will not be criminalized but will be considered as a violation of financial principles.

"I admit that I was wrong about financial principles when I did not fully disclose and used invoices unreasonably, but I did not cause damage to the school, did not take advantage of others, and the products were of good quality. If I have the opportunity and the local authorities recognize my more than 30 years of work, I hope to continue to contribute to the education sector," said Mr. Tam.

Previously, as Tien Phong reported, on August 16, the People's Procuracy of Region 5 - Ca Mau decided to replace the measure of temporary detention with the measure of bail for Mr. Tran Van Tam (accused of embezzling more than 10.7 million VND and sentenced to 7 years in prison at the first instance, the appellate court annulled the verdict and reinvestigated).

According to the decision, the People's Procuracy of Region 5 found that Mr. Tam had paid to remedy the consequences of the money he was accused of embezzling, had a good personal history, a clear address, and his family had applied for bail, so it was not necessary to apply temporary detention measures.

Mr. Tam's house is running a breakfast restaurant.

Previously, on May 6, the People's Court of Ca Mau province opened an appeal hearing and annulled the entire first instance sentence of 7 years in prison for embezzlement of more than 10.7 million VND against Mr. Tran Van Tam for reinvestigation.

The appellate court determined that during the investigation, prosecution, and trial, the first instance court did not record statements or bring the school's legal representative to participate in the proceedings to determine actual damages, which was a "procedural violation."

Evidence in the file shows that the defendant Tam bought materials and hired people to work with him to make products for the school (chairs, TV shelves, shelves). Thus, it is possible that he bought materials and made them himself, then had surplus materials and used them to make other products for the school in practice.

However, the court of first instance only based on the defendant's admission of using paid materials to make new products and using invoices without real finished goods for payment, thereby convicting the defendant of not having a solid enough basis and not being convincing.

Therefore, the appellate court found that it was necessary to evaluate all the products that the defendant had made, and compare them with the amount of money the school had spent (payment for materials and welding labor). Only then would there be enough solid evidence to conclude damages.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chia-se-cua-thay-hieu-truong-bi-tuyen-7-nam-tu-vi-tham-o-107-trieu-dong-post1770021.tpo