Mr Trong, who is also deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption, was speaking at a July 5 working session with the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee to review joint coordination in the work and set tasks for the second half of 2008.

For the long term, Mr Trong said, it is necessary to complete a corruption prevention mechanism, but corruption cases must be dealt with strictly in the first place.

The deputy PM praised the VFF and its member organisations for their coordination with the committee in the fight against corruption.

A total of 158 cases of corruption involving 339 defendants were prosecuted in the first five months of this year, showing year-on-year increases of 8.2 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

During the January-May period, 192 cases of corruption concerning 471 persons were sent to the Procuracy, while 167 cases involving 432 defendants were brought to trial.