Tricked into looking for her mother, an 8-year-old girl in Nghe An was sold to a foreign country by a colluding couple.
(Baonghean.vn) - Knowing that Luong Thi L. had been motherless since childhood, Lin Thi Tuyen and Moong Van Long conspired to trick the 8-year-old girl into going to a foreign country to "find her mother". The news was true, the poor girl was taken to a foreign country and sold as a wife by the subjects.
On October 22, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendants Lin Thi Tuyen (born 1977), residing in Luu Tien village, Chieu Luu commune, and Moong Van Long (born 1973), residing in Huu Kiem commune (Ky Son) for the crime of "Buying and selling children".
Before that, around May 2009, because they knew each other and had each other's phone numbers, Tuyen called Long and said: "If anyone wants to go to China, call me." Long understood and agreed.
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| The two defendants Lin Thi Tuyen and Moong Van Long in court. Photo: Tran Vu |
About 3 days later, Luong Thi L. (born 2000, residing in Chieu Luu commune) came to visit Long's daughter. Knowing that her mother was in China, Long asked: "Do you want to go to China to see your mother?". Thinking it was real, the girl agreed.
Afterwards, Long called Tuyen to inform him that he had found the person and that he was “too young”. Tuyen still agreed. Long asked Tuyen about the remuneration if he brought the person to China. Tuyen replied: “If you bring him to China and sell him for a lot of money, you will pay a lot, if you sell him for a little, you will pay a little”. Long agreed and agreed on a time and place to meet to hand over L.
As scheduled, Long used his motorbike to take L. from his house to Khe Tang bridge in Chieu Luu commune, then handed the child over to Tuyen. This woman took L. by bus to Quang Ninh province and then crossed the border into China.
While abroad, Tuyen contacted a woman named Ly. This woman paid Tuyen 25 million VND and promised to give him another 10 million VND when she finished selling the woman. After returning to Vietnam, Tuyen gave Long 20 million VND.
As for the victim, she was sold to a Chinese man to be his wife. On April 1, 2019, L. escaped to the home of Mr. Cut Van Thuong (L.'s adoptive father). Suspecting that his adopted daughter was sold to a foreign country by Long, Mr. Thuong went to the police station to file a report. The investigation agency determined that Luong Thi L. was only 8 years, 9 months, and 24 days old when she was sold. Therefore, Lin Thi Tuyen and Moong Van Long were prosecuted for the crime of "Buying and selling children".
In court, the two defendants admitted to all their crimes and expressed remorse. They admitted that they knew human trafficking was against the law, but they did it regardless because of the money.
The panel of judges determined that the actions of the two defendants were in violation of the law. The defendants sold L. to a foreign country when the victim was just over 8 years old. Therefore, a severe sentence was needed to demonstrate the strictness of the law.
Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Lin Thi Tuyen and Moong Van Long to 11 years in prison each for “Trafficking in children”. In terms of civil matters, the two defendants were ordered to jointly compensate the victim 80 million VND.
