Appropriate sentence for woman who sold 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 Khmu ethnic person. Living in a border commune, her family's economic situation was difficult, so after finishing 7th grade, My decided to drop out of school. Her life revolved around the village with her family and children in the same situation. In 2013, while My was playing with her friends, she saw a strange man come to her house to 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 why Manh went to find women to take to China was because Vy Thi Hoa (born in 1964, living in the same locality) had contacted him to discuss finding girls to take to China to sell them for marriage to earn money. Due to difficult family circumstances and limited legal awareness, when Manh raised the issue, My's father asked: "If we give the family 60 million VND, will we ask our daughter if she will go?" When hearing her father talk about going to China to get married, My did not say anything but went out to play with her friends.

In the following days, the promise that if she went to China, her parents would have money kept lingering in the mind of the girl over 15 years old. Moreover, when she saw that some girls in the village had money after going abroad, it made My worried. About 20 days later, My suddenly agreed to "go abroad". Upon receiving the above information, Manh was overjoyed because he had found his "prey". This person immediately informed Hoa. Not long after, Vy Thi Hoa personally came to pick up My and took her to China through an illegal route. From here, the girl over 15 years old began to live as a wife in a foreign land...

According to the indictment, after going to China, Hoa handed My over to a woman named Hong (unknown background and address). Hong then sold My to a Chinese man to marry. Vy Thi Hoa confessed that it was unclear how much Hong sold her for, however, this man gave her 75 million VND. Of the above amount, Hoa kept 5 million VND as wages, and gave 70 million VND to Manh. Manh then gave My's family 60 million VND, and spent the rest on personal expenses. As for the victim, since being bought as a wife, she has mainly lived under the control of her "husband's" family. About a year later, My became pregnant and gave birth.

When the child was over 1 year old, because she missed her family and her homeland, My gave several reasons to ask her husband's family to return to Vietnam. In 2016, My returned to Vietnam. On May 23, 2023, the victim filed a complaint against the subjects for child trafficking to the police. The next day, Hoa and Manh went to the police station to confess, admitting to child trafficking.

Price to pay

Recently, the People’s Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of defendants Vy Thi Hoa and Ven Van Manh for the crime of “Trafficking in children”. Notably, this is the second time Hoa has appeared in court for a crime related to human trafficking.

The second time she appeared in court, the female defendant admitted to committing the crime for greed. Regarding the money she received, the defendant said she had spent it all. Hoa gave reasons such as her family's difficult circumstances and lack of legal knowledge to justify her crime. When asked why she had been tried once for human trafficking but still reoffended, the female defendant remained silent. Committing the crime as an accomplice, the defendant Ven Van Manh expressed his regret for helping Hoa find women to send to China. After realizing that his actions were wrong, the defendant turned himself in to the police and at the same time influenced the family to compensate the victim for her mental damage.

Attending the court, the victim asked for a reduced sentence for the defendants. My explained that at the time she was sent to China, her legal awareness was limited, and she saw that her family was poor, so she wanted to go to earn money to help her family. The 60 million VND that My's family received, this victim said, her parents used to repair the house and buy cows 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 personal freedom, honor, dignity, the victims’ right to care and education, and considered children as commodities for exchange, so they needed to be severely punished. The defendants took advantage of the victims’ difficult circumstances and gullibility to commit illegal acts, so a severe sentence was needed to serve as a general deterrent and prevention.

In this case, defendant Vy Thi Hoa was the initiator of the crime, so the court sentenced her to 9 years in prison. As an accomplice, defendant Ven Van Manh was sentenced to 8 years in prison for the same crime of Child Trafficking.

Message from the victim

At the trial, talking about the time she was sold to a foreign country, My shared: At first, due to language barriers, I lived a secluded life. Although I was not beaten, being controlled by my husband's family made me feel suffocated. After a while, my life seemed more comfortable, but I was still not allowed to go out. About a year after being bought and married, My became pregnant and gave birth to a son for her husband's family.

My said that because she was young and had gone through a difficult birth, her health was weaker. In addition, she missed her hometown and her family, so she thought of a way to return to Vietnam. In 2016, after 3 years of being sold, Xeo Thi My returned to the country to reunite with her family. “When I decided to go back, I had to leave my young child there. At first, I missed my child very much, but I didn’t dare to go back. Now he is over 9 years old, he must be much older than before,” My confided.

After returning home for a while, My married a man from the same village. The couple now have two children together. Talking about her current life, My confided that although her family is poor, she feels happy. Because she lives in her homeland, is close to her parents and most importantly, she married a man she loves.

Also through the trial, the victim advised everyone to be more careful in social relationships. Especially when agreeing to go abroad for work or marriage. Because if you do not think carefully, you will fall into the trap of bad people and the consequences will be unpredictable.

It can be seen that, due to ignorance and gullibility, My agreed to "go abroad" when she was still a minor; the case is also a warning lesson for those who, for money, disregard morality and the law to commit crimes...

(The victim's name has been changed.)