The prosecution had been seeking a 12-18 month prison sentence for Nguyen Dai Duong but Hoan Kiem District People’s Court ruled on Friday there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case.
A police raid in April 2007 uncovered rampant narcotic use at New Century.
After further investigation, police determined that Duong and his employees had sold almost 2,500 bottles of imported liquor for nearly VND3 billion (currently US$168,000) from September 2005 onwards.
But the charge eventually leveled against Duong was that he had sold drinks of 30 percent alcohol or higher without a license.
Duong told the court he had not breached the legal limit as he had mixed the liquor with mineral water.
As a result, he believed the percentage of alcohol was lower, he said.
Not so fortunate in court on Friday were Le Quoc Vuong, Le Thi Kim Anh, Tran Thi Thanh, Le Anh Tuan, Truong Thi Thu Hien, Dao Phuong Tri and Nguyen Tan Trung, who were sentenced to 2-7.5 years in prison for drug dealing.
Two others, Le Thi Kim Anh and Dao Phuong Tri Hai, were released immediately after the hearing as they had already served their sentences during the investigation.
Reported by Thai Son |
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