Vietnamese woman under house arrest after trafficking neighbor to China

Cut Thi Hoa of Chieu Luu Commune, Ky Son District, is suspected of human trafficking, a crime punishable by up to 20 years. She has been given bail since she has a child aged under 36 months, but is prohibited from leaving home.

According to the police, in 2016 she had offered to take the neighbor, an unidentified girl now aged 18, to China through the border in Quang Ninh Province and get her a well-paid job.

But the girl was tricked and sold to a Chinese man as a bride for VND180 million ($7,770). Hoa kept VND80 million ($3,400) and gave the rest of the money to the victim’s family.

The police said the girl had suffered constant physical abuse and escaped after more than half a year. Late last year she received help to make it back to Vietnam and complained to local authorities.

Vietnam recorded 670 trafficking victims in 2017, down by almost half from the previous year.

Most of the victims were uneducated women and children from poor areas.

They were sold to men seeking wives in China, Malaysia and South Korea or just to bear children or work as prostitutes in these countries.

Besides the financial difficulties of the victims, the police said negligence, easy immigration procedures and gender imbalance in destination countries also play a part in the crime.