In less than a month, An sold his two children to China to have money to gamble and buy drugs.

On the afternoon of September 24, the People's Court of Lang Son province opened the first instance trial of Ban Van An (27 years old), Trieu Thi Pham (38 years old, both residing in Tan Yen commune, Trang Dinh) and Nong Van Vi (28 years old, residing in Tan Tien commune, Trang Dinh) for the crime of Child trafficking.

The three defendants An, Pham and Vi listen to the verdict. Photo: Hong Van

According to the indictment, on November 7, 2015, An drove a motorbike carrying his aunt Pham and her daughter (5 years old) to Ta Lung border gate (Cao Bang) to meet a man looking for a place to sell his child, then the whole group took a raft across the river to cross the border to China.

The baby was sold for 4,000 NDT (about 15 million VND). Back in Vietnam, An exchanged 2,900 NDT for more than 10 million VND and gave Pham 1 million VND, including 200,000 VND for wages.

Having spent all the money from selling his daughter, on December 1, 2015, An took his son (3 years old) and Vi to the Na Nua border gate (Trang Dinh) and followed the trail to China. The Chinese couple agreed on a price of 8,000 NDT (about 30 million VND) and required the child's papers. An thought it was cheap but still agreed and returned to his country to get the papers related to his son, but was arrested by Lang Son border guards.

In court, An confessed that because of gambling, drug addiction and his wife working far away, he had the idea of ​​selling his children. When his wife called from the South to ask about the children, the defendant lied and said, "I have given them up for adoption." When his wife filed a complaint, An prevented and threatened his wife from coming to pick up her son so that he could sell him to China.

The panel sentenced An to 16 years in prison, Pham to 13 years in prison and Vi to 10 years in prison.

According to VNE