9 years in prison for 'fake' couple who sold children to China

(Baonghean.vn) - On December 29, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial to try Moong Thi Bua (born 1994), Nam Can commune, Ky Son and Vi Van Toan (born 1992), residing in Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son, for the crime of "Buying and selling children".

According to the indictment, in 2013, Bua and Toan met while working in China. Knowing that the demand for wives among men there was high, the couple and Lu Thi Tham discussed how to return to Vietnam to find girls to sell in China.

Vi Van Toan and Moong Thi Bua in the dock. Photo: Nhu Binh

Toan returned to Vietnam to entice Moong Thi Q. (born in 1998) and Vi Thi P. (born in 1996), both residents of Ky Son district, to marry Chinese men. Toan painted a picture of a happy, fulfilling life after marrying a Chinese man, causing the two young girls to follow him.

At the end of August 2013, Vi Van Toan took the two victims to Dien Chau town and handed them over to Moong Thi Bua so that Bua could take them to China. After arriving in China, Lu Thi Tham sold Q. for 198 million VND and P. for 195 million VND. Tham gave Toan 70 million VND to pay the families of the two victims as promised earlier. After deducting expenses, Toan received 10 million VND and Bua received 25 million VND.

After that, Moong Thi Bua and Vi Van Toan returned to Vietnam, lived together but did not register their marriage. Currently, the couple has a daughter over 3 years old.

On February 28, 2017, Moong Thi Q. returned to Vietnam and reported the actions of Moong Thi Bua and Vi Van Toan to the investigation agency. At the time of being sold to China, Moong Thi Q. was just over 15 years old. Bua and Toan were prosecuted for the crime of “Trafficking in children”.

At the trial, both defendants confessed their crimes and asked the jury to consider reducing their sentences so they could return home to raise their children soon.

Considering the case as a whole, differentiating the roles of each defendant, the panel sentenced Vi Van Toan to 5 years in prison, Moong Thi Bua to 4 years in prison. In civil matters, the court ordered Toan and his wife to compensate the victim 50 million VND as previously agreed.

Nhu Binh