2 women charged for selling 21 others to Chinese
Prosecutors in the southern province of An Giang have charged two local women for trafficking 21 women to China.
According to the indictment released by the prosecutors, Nguyen Thi Huong, 50, and Nguyen Thi Hong Phuong, 40, trafficked the women, all belonging to the southern provinces of Hau Giang, Kien Giang, and An Giang between November 2012 and December 2013.
In July 2012 Huong had sold Phuong for VND35 million (US$1,750) to another woman in An Giang, who took her to China and sold her for VND160 million (US$8,000).
After two months in China, Phuong returned to Vietnam, looking for other women to traffic to China.
She met Huong and asked her to look for gullible victims, offering her VND50 – 55 million (US$2,500-2,750) for each woman aged between 18 and 29 and VND40 million for those above 30.
Ten other intermediaries reportedly helped the traffickers get in touch with the 21 women, who were soon sent to China, authorities said, adding that some of the mediators were close relatives of the victims.
Early last year some of the victims managed to flee from China and complained to authorities in Vietnam.
Some of the victims were sold again in China while one of them was sold to a man who could not hear or speak.
Phuong was arrested in February at the province’s Long Binh border gate while fleeing to Cambodia.
Huong gave herself up at a police station soon afterwards.
The police said they are hunting for another accomplice of the couple and Huong’s younger sister, Nguyen Thi Thom.