Appropriate punishment for the woman who trafficked young girls abroad.

Selling a 15-year-old girl to marry a foreigner.

Xeo Thi My (born in 1998, residing in Bao Nam commune, Ky Son district) is a member of the Khmu ethnic group. Living in a border commune, her family faced economic hardship, so My decided to drop out of school after completing the 7th grade. My's life revolved around her village, her family, and other children in similar circumstances. In 2013, while playing with her friends, My saw a strange man come to her house and talk to her father about going to China to get married. That man was Ven Van Manh (born in 1961), residing in Chieu Luu commune, Ky Son district.

The reason Mạnh sought women to take to China was because Vy Thị Hoa (born in 1964, residing in the same locality) had contacted him earlier to discuss finding girls to sell to China for marriage, promising money in return. Due to difficult family circumstances and limited legal awareness, when Mạnh raised the issue, Mỵ's father asked, "If you give the family 60 million dong, will you ask your daughter if she'll go?" Upon hearing her father mention going to China for marriage, Mỵ remained silent and went off to play with her friends.

In the days that followed, the promise of money from her parents if she went to China kept swirling in the mind of the girl, who was just over 15 years old. Furthermore, seeing some girls in her village whose families had become wealthy after going abroad made My uneasy. About 20 days later, My unexpectedly agreed to "go abroad." Upon receiving this information, Manh was overjoyed, having found his "prey." He immediately informed Hoa. Not long after, Vy Thi Hoa personally came to pick up My and took her to China via an unofficial border crossing. From then on, the girl, who was just over 15 years old, began her life as a wife in a foreign land...

According to the indictment, after arriving in China, Hoa handed My over to a woman named Hong (whose identity and address are unknown). Hong then sold My to a Chinese man to be his wife. Vy Thi Hoa confessed that she did not know the exact amount Hong received for selling My, but that Hong gave her 75 million VND. Hoa kept 5 million VND as commission and gave 70 million VND to Manh. Manh then gave 60 million VND to My's family, and spent the rest on personal expenses. As for the victim, from the time she was bought as a wife, she mainly lived under the supervision of her "husband's" family. About a year later, My became pregnant and gave birth.

When her child was over one year old, missing her family and homeland, My gave several reasons to ask her husband's family for permission to return to Vietnam. In 2016, My returned to Vietnam. On May 23, 2023, the victim filed a complaint with the police against the perpetrators for child trafficking. The following day, the two suspects, Hoa and Manh, surrendered to the police, admitting to the child trafficking.

Price to pay

Recently, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial for defendants Vy Thi Hoa and Ven Van Manh on the charge of "Trafficking in Children". Notably, this was the second time Hoa appeared in court for a crime related to human trafficking.

During her second court appearance, the female defendant admitted to the crime, stating she committed it out of greed. Regarding the money she received, she claimed she had spent it all. Hoa offered reasons such as difficult family circumstances and a lack of legal knowledge to justify her criminal actions. When asked why she reoffended after being tried once for human trafficking, she remained silent. Committing the crime as an accomplice, defendant Ven Van Manh expressed deep remorse for helping Hoa find women to traffic to China. After realizing his actions were wrong, he surrendered to the police and also arranged for his family to compensate the victims for emotional distress.

Attending the trial, the victim pleaded for leniency for the defendants. My explained that at the time she was taken to China, due to her limited understanding of the law and seeing her family's poverty, she wanted to go to earn money to help them. Regarding the 60 million dong her family received, the victim stated that her parents used it to repair their house and buy cattle to raise.

At the trial, the panel of judges determined that this was a very serious case. The defendants' criminal acts violated the children's right to physical freedom, honor, and dignity, as well as the victims' right to care and education, and treated children as commodities for exchange, thus requiring a strict trial. The defendants took advantage of the victims' difficult circumstances and gullibility to commit illegal acts, therefore a harsh sentence is necessary to serve as a deterrent and preventative measure.

Considering that in this case, defendant Vy Thi Hoa was the instigator of the crime, the court sentenced her to 9 years in prison. As an accomplice, defendant Ven Van Manh received an 8-year prison sentence for the same crime of trafficking in children.

A message from the victim

At the trial, recounting her time being sold into slavery, My shared: "Initially, due to language barriers, I became withdrawn and isolated. Although I wasn't physically abused, being controlled by my husband's family made me feel suffocated. After a while, my life seemed more comfortable, but I still wasn't allowed to go outside. About a year after being bought as a wife, My became pregnant and gave birth to a son for her husband's family."

My recounted that, due to her young age and the difficult childbirth she experienced, her health was weaker. Furthermore, her longing for her homeland and family led her to seek a way to return to Vietnam. In 2016, after three years of being sold, Xeo Thi My returned to her country to reunite with her family. “When I decided to leave, I had to leave my young child behind. At first, I missed him terribly, but I didn’t dare go back. Now he’s over nine years old; he’s probably grown a lot,” My confided.

After returning to Vietnam, My married a man from her village. The couple now has two children together. Speaking about her current life, My confided that despite the difficulties and her family being classified as a poor household, she feels happy. This is because she gets to live in her homeland, be close to her parents, and most importantly, marry the man she truly loves.

Through the trial, the victim also urged everyone to be more cautious in social relationships, especially regarding agreeing to go abroad for work or marriage. Without careful consideration, one can fall into the traps of unscrupulous individuals, with unpredictable consequences.

It is clear that, due to a lack of understanding and gullibility, My agreed to "go abroad" before reaching the age of majority; the case also serves as a cautionary tale for those who, for the sake of money, disregard morality and the law to commit crimes…

(The victim's name has been changed.