05 April 2004 :

An appeals court in Hanoi, Vietnam, upheld the death sentence La Thi Kim Oanh, a woman who embezzled millions of dollars from the government, while two vice ministers had their sentences reduced for their roles in the scam.
Oanh, director of an investment company affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, was convicted of embezzling $4.6 million that led to additional losses of $2.2 million, presiding Judge Nguyen Hung Cuong of the People's Supreme Court in Hanoi said in a nationally televised broadcast.
Nguyen Quang Ha and Nguyen Thien Luan, two former vice ministers of agricultural and rural development, each had their sentences reduced from the three years' jail they were given on December 2, 2003 at the end of the trial for "irresponsibility causing serious consequences."
Ha was given a three-year suspended sentence while Luan received two years' probation because they were sincere in their confessions and contributions to the country, the judge said.
The two signed letters of guarantee to help Oanh borrow millions of dollars without collateral from 1997 to 2001. She then defaulted on those loans.
Three of Oanh's former staff members, sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in jail for helping to cover up the fraud, had their sentences upheld.