A former Party official in the northern province of Cao Bang received a suspended sentence of three years on Thursday for crashing his car into a motorbike and killing three people in January.
Lanh Duc Dung, then secretary of Ha Quang District Party unit, was driving a car on the afternoon of January 30 when he hit a man, his mother and his infant son on a motobike.
The three people died on the spot.
Dung’s car then hit a shack near the road and its head got stuck to the ground.
The indictment said the crash happened after Dung steered to the opposite lane of the road to avoid a pile of rock, local media reported.
Lanh Duc Dung in a photo at an event in Cao Bang in 2011.
Prosecutors have suggested that he be punished with a jail term of between seven and 15 years for the crash and its serious consequences, according to Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper.
But the panel of judges decided to dole out a three-year suspended sentence with a five-year probation period. They said his family had fought for the nation during the war and that he had compensated the family more than VND920 million (US$42,170), the paper said.
The victims’ family has reportedly withdrawn their complaint after receiving the money.