Uncle sells niece to marry abroad to 'ease suffering'
(Baonghean.vn) - Hearing her uncle's advice that marrying a man in China would give her a prosperous life, and if she didn't like it, she could return home, Ms. H. agreed. For her human trafficking, her "kind" uncle and two accomplices were sent to prison.
On March 24, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to try Lo Van Tinh (born in 1983), residing in Cam Muoi commune, Que Phong district; Luong Van Hai (born in 1977) and Vi Thi Toan (born in 1966), both residing in Quang Phong commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Human trafficking".
Before that, around early January 2014, Hai told Tinh that his mother-in-law, Toan, was married and living in China. Toan was able to bring women to China to marry, and if successful, the person who brought them would receive 30 million VND in commission.
Hearing that, Tinh asked Hai to tell Mrs. Toan to take her niece, Ha Thi H. (born in 1996, residing in Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district) to China. After getting Toan's phone number, Tinh contacted her to ask her to take H. to China to find a job. Toan said "I'm going to China just to get married, if you agree, the family will receive 60 million VND".
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| Three defendants in court. Photo: Tran Vu |
3 days later, Tinh and Hai went to H.'s house to meet her parents to discuss going to work for hire, but the family did not agree. After that, Tinh met H. privately and told her to go to China to "get married to avoid suffering", if she did not want to get married, Tinh would take her back. Hearing that, H. agreed and prepared her clothes.
Four days later, Tinh and Hai took Ms. H. to Mong Cai border gate (Quang Ninh). At the border gate, all three were picked up by a woman to China through an illegal route. In the foreign country, Tinh and Hai handed H. over to Toan and received a bag of 360,000 yuan (108 million VND) to return to Vietnam. With that amount, Tinh was divided 38 million VND, Ms. H.'s family received 30 million VND, and Hai kept the rest.
Ms. H. stayed at Toan's house for a while and was sold, but the girl did not agree. At that time, Toan said he had sent 60 million VND to his family, so he forced H. to marry a Chinese man for 3 years before she could return. With no other choice, Ms. H. had to accept marrying a Chinese man. Toan profited from the 40,000 NDT (equivalent to 120 million VND) from the sale of the person.
In 2015, Ms. H. gave birth to twin girls. In May 2019, Ms. H. was allowed by her husband's family to visit her hometown and told her family the whole story. On May 25, 2019, Ms. H. filed a complaint with the Que Phong District Police.
At court, the three defendants admitted their crimes. The three defendants apologized to the victim and asked for a lighter sentence. In this case, the victim and Tinh had an uncle-niece relationship, so the victim filed a petition for a lighter sentence for Tinh and Hai.
It is known that previously Vi Thi Toan and Luong Van Hai were brought to trial for human trafficking.
Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Lo Van Tinh to 4 years in prison for Human Trafficking; Luong Van Hai to 5 years in prison, plus the previous 6-year sentence, so the defendant must serve a total sentence of 11 years in prison; and Vi Thi Toan to 5 years in prison, plus the previous 7-year sentence, so the defendant must serve a total sentence of 12 years in prison.
