Vietnam official on rape charge

October 28, 2004

A Vietnamese former deputy sports minister has gone on trial for allegedly raping a young girl. Luong Quoc Dung attacked the 13-year-old girl because he thought sex with a virgin would bring an end to a run of bad luck, it has been claimed.

The 52-year-old is the former vice-chairman of the sports ministry.

If he is found guilty he faces between seven and 15 years in prison. The girl's neighbour is also on trial for allegedly facilitating the rape.

Alleged bribe
Mr Dung allegedly paid the neighbour, a former mistress, $1,000 to procure the girl.

She took the girl on what she said was a shopping trip, before taking her to a hotel room where she was attacked, it is alleged.

The assault reportedly occurred in a hotel in Hanoi on 30 December 2003.

The girl told her parents the same day, and they went straight to police, the reports say.

Several articles have alleged that the girl's family tried to drop the case after Mr Dung paid them $68,000.

Mr Dung was arrested at his office on 19 February and fired by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on 1 March, who cited the "special seriousness of his law-breaking act".

Closed doors
Following the arrest, the prime minister also ordered an investigation into alleged corruption in a construction projects, overseen by the former sports minister, relating to last year's South-East Asian Games, which were held in Vietnam for the first time.

The trial will be held behind closed doors to protect the identity of the victim, and is scheduled to last only one day.

Mr Dung, who is being held in B14 prison in Hanoi, has reportedly made no comment about the charges.

But his lawyer, Nguyen Suy Thiep, said Mr Dung should have been charged not with rape but sex with a minor, saying the act had been consensual.

Correspondents say it is the first time that a high-ranking Vietnamese government official has been accused publicly of raping a minor.

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