Vietnamese Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh is expected to be suspended from his post amid intensifying investigations into a major soccer-betting scandal involving his ministry, state-controlled media reported yesterday.
The online version of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has recommended to the elite Politburo that Binh be suspended.
The paper said Politburo member Phan Dien told a party meeting on Saturday that Khai had written to the Politburo "seeking a temporary suspension of Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh."
"I believe the Politburo will agree with this proposal," the newspaper quoted Dien as saying.
While Binh is a member of the Cabinet, only the Party Central Committee has the power to dismiss him.
The move comes as the Transport Ministry faces intense scrutiny following the January arrest of a senior ministry official who was accused of betting some US$7 million on European soccer matches.
Police are still investigating whether Bui Tien Dung -- director general of a department that manages several major infrastructure projects known as Project Management Unit 18 (PMU18) -- siphoned millions in government funds for the bets.
Several other officials have also been arrested in connection with the case, and Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Viet Tien was suspended last week pending further investigation into his alleged involvement. Tien was the former head of that unit.
Dien was quoted as saying corruption at the PMU showed "the party organization was almost paralyzed."
In recent days, Binh has faced an outcry of public calls to resign from his post. In a highly unusual move, official media this week carried unusual attacks on Binh, publishing a string of readers' e-mails and quotes by senior officials who suggested he resign, or even be fired.
"I think the transport minister should now reflect on what he has done recently," said Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, as quoted by Tuoi Tre.
"If the mistakes were serious, it should be a case for dismissal, not resignation," she said.
One reader said in an e-mail South Korea's prime minister and the mayor of Seoul had recently taken responsibility for mistakes and resigned.
"Why don't the transport minister and the deputy minister learn such a lesson?" the reader wrote.
Binh laid the bulk of the blame on Tien when he was summoned earlier this week to explain his role in overseeing the ministry.
Police have accused Tien of "intentionally violating" government rules on managing state assets and lax management in a string of road-building projects that led to significant losses.
"If the minister is good, but things below him become corrupt, he should resign," state media quoted former prime minister Vo Van Kiet as saying.
On Friday, Khai signaled his disappointment with Binh's failure to take responsibility, telling him to rewrite his "self-criticism."
Khai said last week ministers and heads of government agencies must be forced to resign if corruption takes place under their management.
Vietnam has been noticeably tougher on corruption cases, recently arresting scores of people including senior officials for graft at key industries such as oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation and trade.
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