Le Duc Tho - former Secretary of Ben Tre was accused of receiving a bribe of 600,000 USD from Mai Thi Hong Hanh, the owner of Xuyen Viet Oil. But the bribe amount is nothing compared to the other assets that Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hanh gave Mr. Le Duc Tho, calling them "gifts".
The prosecution agencies seized many valuable assets, the watches alone showed that the former Secretary of Ben Tre was a sophisticated player, with 13 watches all from famous luxury brands, including Patek Philippe, Breguet... These watches are all valuable, one costs 421,000 USD, equivalent to 9.8 billion VND.
The golf clubs that the former Secretary of Ben Tre plays are also the type for billionaires, but not one, but three sets of Honma, some of which cost over 1 billion VND. Mr. Tho drives a Mercedes worth nearly 7 billion VND.
Not to mention other assets such as 97 solid gold pieces, many red books and other savings books worth thousands of billions of VND of Mr. Le Duc Tho that are being temporarily detained, the types of luxury items collected for entertainment, are enough to show that Mr. Tho is not a cadre but a tycoon with a lot of money.
Where would an honest leader get the money to play the tycoon game like that if not through corruption and bribery? Even if it was a gift from the owner of Xuyen Viet Oil, no one would give that much money without the intention of getting it back many times over. That's what the folk saying goes: "abandoning the small to catch the big".
A Provincial Party Secretary who wears a billion-dollar watch, holds a billion-dollar cane, and drives a billion-dollar car is certainly not an honest "official". After eating, he only thinks about collecting Patek Philippe watches, gold and silver, and has no mind to take care of the people. People have the right to question that someone with so much money can only take bribes and gifts from businesses, and the Xuyen Viet Oil case is a specific example.
Watches are also needed to tell time, but is playing with a set of 13 watches worth billions the ethics of a public servant?
Playing golf is fine, but if you need three sets of billion-dollar clubs, is that considered a cadre playing sports to improve his health?
Everyone needs a vehicle to get around, but does riding a "Mercedes" with a lot of money mean that an official has a heart and soul when the people around are still poor and life is full of difficulties?
Looking back at the luxurious toys of Mr. Le Duc Tho, it shows that he is too arrogant, disregards the law, and disregards "the superiors looking down, the people looking up".
Mr. Le Duc Tho angered the people too much!
