First it was the ex-health minister, Vietnam also jails the former science minister and dozen officials over Covid test kits scandal

Vietnam's former minister of health Nguyen Thanh Long (C) is led into a court by police for his anti-corruption trial over Covid test kit production bribes in Hanoi on January 3, 2024. Vietnam's former health minister was given 18 years in prison on January 12, 2023 while dozens of other health officials and business people were handed jail terms for their roles in a scandal involving overpriced Covid-19 test kits. - AFP

HANOI (Reuters): A court in Vietnam jailed two former cabinet ministers on Friday and found dozens of officials guilty of bribery and mismanagement for their roles in a coronavirus test kit scandal, the ministry of public security said.

Former Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long was sentenced to 18 years in prison for taking bribes worth US$2.25 million, while Chu Ngoc Anh, former science and technology minister, was jailed for three years for mismanagement, the security ministry said in a statement.