Former flight attendant jailed for running prostitution ring with Chinese boyfriend in Ho Chi Minh City

The municipal People's Court on Dec. 11 found 32-year-old Dinh Thi Thanh Tuyen guilty of brokering prostitution.

Her partner, Zhang Lei, 40, received three years and six months for the same charge. Five other employees were handed sentences ranging from three to three and a half years.

Investigators said the pair took over the Tai Nguyen Fortuner II restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street in 2022 and later authorized a system that allowed female attendants to go out and sell sex, primarily to clients from mainland China, Malaysia and Taiwan, at prices from VND4 million (US$152) per session to VND7 million for overnight service.

Managers kept detailed logs, divided attendants into groups based on whether they agreed to sex work and coordinated customer requests through internal messaging channels.

Police raided the venue and nearby hotels on Oct. 17, 2023, catching five attendants in the act after groups of Chinese customers had hired them for overnight services.

At trial, Tuyen and the other defendants admitted the allegations. Zhang told the court he came to Vietnam seeking business opportunities and turned to prostitution as restaurant revenues plummeted. Both defendants argued they did not personally take a cut from prostitution payments.

Investigators also seized VND20 billion from Zhang’s residence, money he said was sent by his mother for business purposes. Authorities have since returned the funds to her, as well as VND200 million taken from the restaurant.