Prostitution in the digital age: 'Marketing' via Facebook and Zalo in Nghe An.

Sophisticated tactics

It's no longer simply the old forms of prostitution such as public prostitution, disguised within licensed businesses, or as karaoke hostesses, cafe waitresses, massage parlor and hair salon staff, and motel employees...

With the rapid development of technology, the exploitation and use of social media and dark websites for advertising and arranging prostitution is quietly taking place. Prostitutes often give themselves attractive "stage names" and include a few provocative photos on Facebook and Zalo so that clients can find, get acquainted with, and negotiate prices.

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Van Giap - Deputy Team Leader of Team 6, Criminal Police Department, Provincial Police.

This was also the method used by Ho Thi Thuy Hang (born in 2001, residing in Block 9, Le Loi Ward, Vinh City) in the prostitution ring she operated, which was dismantled on July 30, 2019, by the Criminal Investigation Department in coordination with the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security under Special Case 719M. At the investigative agency, Hang confessed that she befriended girls aged 18-25 with attractive appearances and a penchant for partying and extravagance through social media, and then lured them into her ring.

After recruiting the girls, Hang instructed them to put on makeup, wear revealing clothes, and take photos to post on Zalo to attract customers. When customers called, Hang let them choose a girl from the photos, then negotiated the price and arranged for the girl to come and serve them. The cost for each encounter was at least 2 million VND, and for girls with outstanding looks, it was 4 million VND per encounter. This was the money the customer paid to the prostitute; as for Hang, the customer had to pay between 500,000 and 1,000,000 VND per encounter, not including the room fee.

The services Hang offered to her clients were quite diverse. Besides brokering prostitution, she also provided escorts for clients at wild parties, even drug-fueled "rave" events, with prices ranging from 4 to 10 million VND per session. Furthermore, Hang arranged for girls to participate in "sex tours" upon client request. The price varied depending on the length of the trip and the distance, but the minimum price was 10 million VND per trip.

The suspects are Ho Thi Thuy Hang and Hoang Duc Dinh. (Photo courtesy of PB)

Similarly, on November 19, 2018, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Police, in coordination with the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, successfully cracked Case 328D, arresting Hoang Duc Dinh (born in 1992, residing in Hamlet 9A, Hung Trung Commune, Hung Nguyen District) for the act of brokering prostitution.

According to investigative documents, in addition to requiring the girls to wear makeup and provocative clothing for photos to post on Zalo to attract customers, Dinh personally approached and contacted wealthy and influential men to entice them with photos. If a customer expressed interest in prostitution, Dinh would negotiate the price, arrange the location and hotel, and then send the prostitute to provide the service.

For safety, Dinh chose large hotels as locations for prostitution. The average price per encounter ranged from 1.5 to 5 million VND; attractive and sexy university and college students commanded higher prices, from 4.5 to 5 million VND per encounter. Dinh profited about half of the money. Dinh's prostitution ring had more than 10 "long-legged" girls. To attract more clients, Dinh also frequently visited universities and colleges to recruit new "girls."

Kiresolutely fight and eradicate

According to statistics, as of August 2019, Nghe An province had 3,113 establishments providing services prone to prostitution, such as hotels, guesthouses, massage parlors, karaoke bars, etc., employing 8,987 people; approximately 200 people were suspected of engaging in prostitution. In the first eight months of the year, authorities discovered, arrested, and prosecuted 27 cases involving 71 individuals engaged in prostitution.

Major Nguyen Thanh Hai, Deputy Head of the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police, stated: "In reality, this type of crime and vice is constantly evolving. Previously, those involved in prostitution were simply unemployed people in difficult circumstances... But now, the majority of those involved in prostitution are young, even students, who enjoy a lavish lifestyle and want to keep up with trends."

Some individuals both engage in prostitution themselves and manage prostitutes under their control, creating a closed loop. Most of these individuals use phones and social media to direct and coordinate prostitutes when clients request their services. Furthermore, during prostitution transactions, pimps become wary if they encounter strangers and refuse the transaction. This makes intelligence gathering and crackdown efforts much more difficult.

According to the law, criminal prosecution requires clarification of organized pimping activities. In cases where prostitutes advertise and engage in prostitution independently, only administrative penalties can be applied if discovered. Meanwhile, the penalties for prostitution are not sufficiently deterrent.

According to Decree 167/2013/ND-CP, the act of buying sex is punishable by a fine of VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000; the act of selling sex is punishable by a warning or a fine of VND 100,000 to VND 300,000.

Furthermore, according to many investigators, the operating areas of these sex workers—motels and hotels—are constantly changing, making it very difficult to detect and gather evidence to prove their illegal activities.

For example, to dismantle the prostitution ring run by Ho Thi Thuy Hang, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Police spent six months meticulously monitoring her. “All transactions between Hang and her clients, as well as other members of the ring, were conducted via the Zalo social network. Furthermore, the hotels and guesthouses were not fixed and changed frequently, making it very difficult for law enforcement to track them,” a detective stated.

According to Major Nguyen Thanh Hai, Deputy Head of the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police: With the goal of resolutely combating and eradicating prostitution in general, and prostitution via social media in particular, the high-tech team of the Department is currently investigating suspected individuals involved in prostitution on social media to establish a special case for investigation.

This would be one of the important and effective measures in preventing the misuse of social media to commit violations in general, and prostitution in particular.

The operating areas of these sex workers are motels and hotels, which are frequently changed. (Photo: NH archives)

Regarding the Department of Social Evils Prevention and Control under the Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - Deputy Head of the Department, stated: Currently, the prevention and control of prostitution focuses on preventive activities and inspections of businesses providing services that are prone to prostitution. However, the specialized agency, the Department of Social Evils Prevention and Control, does not have the authority to impose penalties, so the effectiveness of prevention is low and lacks sufficient deterrent power. In the first nine months of 2019, 65 establishments were inspected, but only 25 were dealt with through warnings.

Regarding future plans, Ms. Huong stated: Along with continuing to strengthen propaganda work on preventing and combating prostitution, especially in key areas, the Sub-Department is currently coordinating with the SCDI (Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives) to conduct surveys and select Vinh City as the pilot location for the model "Supporting capacity building of peer groups, self-help groups, and clubs of sex workers in accessing, communicating, and supporting harm reduction and prevention of gender-based violence."

The suspect Ho Thi Thuy Hang at the police investigation agency. Photo courtesy of Pham Bang.

Thus, it can be seen that while prostitution has decreased on the surface, it still harbors many complexities and increasingly sophisticated methods, with the emergence of new individuals and forms of prostitution.

Therefore, authorities need to intensify efforts to disseminate and educate the public on the law, while strengthening management and monitoring of guesthouses, hotels, and karaoke bars to promptly detect any suspicious signs related to prostitution; and coordinate with the People's Procuracy and the People's Court to bring to trial cases related to prostitution in order to deter and prevent it from occurring.

In particular, based on the Cybersecurity Law, there is a need for stricter control over the posting of information on websites and personal pages, to prevent individuals from exploiting social media to commit violations in general and prostitution in particular.