Saigon cops bust commercial surrogacy ring led by Chinese national

By Quoc Thang   January 1, 2019 | 11:36 pm PT
Saigon cops bust commercial surrogacy ring led by Chinese national
Vietnam legalized surrogacy in 2015 but only allows the use of a surrogate for humanitarian purposes. Photo by Pixabay
Ho Chi Minh City police have arrested a Chinese man and three Vietnamese women for running an illegal surrogacy business.

Chinese national Cai Guo Lin, 37, and three Vietnamese women identified as Hoang Thi Thu Trang, 27, Trieu Thi Hang, 41, and Nguyen Thi Mai Anh, 24, have been placed under criminal investigation for "organizing surrogacy for commercial purposes."

Initial investigations show that the Chinese man came to Hanoi in September last year and asked Trang to be his interpreter. Lin agreed to pay Trang VND5 million ($215) for each case.

Trang went to the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology and established contact with Hang and asked her to look for surrogate women who would be paid VND300 million ($12,900) each. Hang introduced the first potential surrogate mother to Lin and received a bonus of VND50 million ($2,150).

Last month, Hang and her friend Mai Anh introduced six more surrogates to Lin and brought them from Hanoi to HCMC before taking the women to Cambodia for surrogacy operations.

However, one of the would-be surrogates made a phone call to her family, fearing she would be trafficked to Cambodia by the Chinese man.

Acting on a resultant tipoff, police raided a hotel in District 3 and detained the Chinese man and three Vietnamese women, officers said Tuesday.

Vietnam has legalized surrogacy since 2015 in an effort to open up opportunities for infertile couples, but only allows the use of a surrogate for humanitarian purposes and couples can seek help from family members only. Using surrogacy for commercial purposes is considered illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison under Vietnam’s Penal Code.

The country welcomed the first surrogate baby girl weighing 3.6 kilograms on January 22, 2016 in Hanoi. The mother of the baby girl was unable to get pregnant after 18 years of marriage due to congenital abnormalities.

 
 
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