HANOI: A Vietnamese journalist accused of bribing police during an undercover investigation into corruption went on trial on Thursday in a case that has generated international attention.
Hoang Khuong, 39, a reporter with the official Tuoi Tre newspaper, is being tried alongside five other defendants at a court hearing due to last for two days in southern Ho Chi Minh City, state media said.
Khuong is accused of paying 15 million dong ($715) to a traffic police officer, through a broker, in return for the release of an impounded motorbike.
Khuong's arrest in January caused public outcry in communist Vietnam and prompted a debate about the state of local journalism, with many experts expressing fears the case could deter reporters from tackling corruption.
France-based Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of Khuong, saying that "what he did was in the course of an undercover investigation".
In 2008, Vietnam jailed a reporter for two years for his coverage of corruption in the transport ministry in a case that sent a chill through the country's media industry.
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