Bac Lieu health officials ‘benefits’ from bird flu

Avian influenza attacked Bac Lieu two times in 2004, causing losses of more than VND40 billion. Bac Lieu was considered the province that performed anti-bird flu tasks best in the Mekong Delta. However, some health officials took advantage of the outbreak to embezzle money through the purchase of equipment to counter bird flu.

In early February 2004, the Bac Lieu provincial Department of Health signed contracts to buy 5,100 comforters at a cost of VND15,872/unit. But on the invoice, they listed the price at VND50,000/unit – a profit for certain individuals of VND180 million at the expense of the local budget.

At the same time, the department signed a contract with a medical equipment shop in HCM City to buy 6,000 specialised protective uniforms at VND68,000/set. However, investigation shows that those outfits were bought from some establishments in Bac Lieu at a price of VND30,8000/set only. The amount of money falling into the pockets of some individuals in this case was VND223.2 million.
In August 2004, this agency signed a contract with another company to buy 1,000 specialised comforters at VND40,000/unit, while this kind of comforter was sold in the market for just VND4,000/unit. Through this contract, some officials at the Bac Lieu Department of Health embezzled VND35 million.