Hanoi, May 28 -- The Hanoi People's Court on May 28 opened the first-instance trial of Nguyen Loc An, ex-Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Domestic Market Department, along with three other defendants, over violations related to the issuance of petroleum import and export licences.

An was charged with "accepting bribes", while Nguyen Tuan Quynh, ex-Chairman of Long Hung Trading and Services Co. Ltd., was prosecuted for "giving bribes." Tran Trac Viet Duc, Director of Bach Khoa Viet Trading, Consultancy, Investment and Construction JSC, and Do Thi Tuyet Nga, the company's chief accountant, were accused of violating regulations on state asset management, causing losses and wastefulness.

According to the indictment by...