Three other former officials of the provincial post office, including ex-director Le Quang Trung, were convicted and received sentences ranging from suspended terms to six years for failing to discover Ba’s wrongdoings and dereliction of duty.

Ba was arrested in December 2006 after police discovered she had pocketed large sums of money every time she was tasked with transferring the post office’s money to the treasury through banks.

She embezzled VND15.4 billion in all out of the VND26 billion ($1.6 million) she was entrusted with.

Ba admitted her crime in court, saying she had spent the misappropriated money on buying lottery tickets, gambling and traveling.

On Tuesday prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Ba.

But the court decided on capital punishment considering the massive amount she swindled.

The trial had begun Tuesday.

Reported by Tien Trinh