The woman who escaped returns and denounces the human trafficker.

(Baonghean.vn) - Knowing she had been tricked and sold, Ms. Hieng accepted marriage to a Chinese man nearly 20 years older than her. After 9 years as a wife in a foreign land, taking advantage of her husband's absence while he was away working, Ms. Hieng escaped through the forest with her two children, finding her way back to Vietnam and writing a complaint against the human trafficker to the authorities.

In early September 2016, the Provincial People's Court held the first-instance trial of defendant Luong Thi Xuan (born in 1961), residing in Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district, on charges of human trafficking. Present in court as the victim, Ms. Vi Thi Hieng (from the same village as the defendant) also brought her youngest child, nearly 7 years old, whose surname is Khua and whose father is Chinese. Because the child did not speak her mother tongue and was frail, the court made an exception and allowed Ms. Hieng's child to sit beside her mother.

According to the indictment: Luong Thi Xuan was born and raised in Hong Dien village, Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district. In 2001, after her marriage ended, Xuan entrusted her two sons to her family and sought work in China.

Luong Thi Xuan

In the suburbs of Beijing, although in her forties, Xuan, thanks to her beauty, married a divorced man who was relatively well-off. After five years of marriage, in order to make money, Xuan returned to Vietnam and deceived young women, telling them she was going to China for work, but in reality, she sold them to Chinese men to be their wives.

In early August 2007, Xuan returned to Vietnam and stayed in Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district. To deceive naive and gullible young girls, before returning home, Xuan bought all kinds of jewelry such as necklaces, rings, and bracelets... but they were all fake gold.

Seeing that Xuan had left with nothing but the clothes on her back, but now returned with gold jewelry around her neck, the villagers gathered at her house to visit and expressed their desire to send their children to China with Xuan to work.

Knowing that "the fish had bitten the bait," Xuan happily agreed. Two days later, Xuan "recruited" three unmarried girls from the same village, aged 19 and 20: Vi Thi Hieng and Bui Thi Bao, both residing in Hong Thang village, and Vi Thi Hoa, residing in Hong Dien village, all in Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district.

Using the same devious tactic, Xuan went all the way to Nga My commune, Tuong Duong district, and tricked Kha Thi Hai (20 years old), who was unmarried. Xuan arranged for Hai to meet him on September 5th in Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district, to go with three girls who were relatives from Xuan's village.

On the evening of September 5th, to avoid detection by the commune police, Xuan hired a taxi to take the four girls to Con Cuong town to catch a bus to Vinh City, from where they would continue their journey to Mong Cai, Quang Ninh province.

On September 7th, while Xuan was taking the four girls to a rented room to rest before taking them to China the next morning, she received a phone call from Vi Thi Hoa's family saying they wouldn't let Hoa go anymore. Xuan agreed to go and pick up a bus for Hoa to return home. The next morning, Xuan took Hieng, Bao, and Hai to China via an unofficial border crossing, and then brought them to Xuan and her husband's house in the suburbs of Beijing.

Upon arriving home, Xuan introduced the girls to her husband, a Chinese man, as his house. She told them, "He loves and dotes on me immensely. As long as you live with him, you have to be considerate of him. He's the breadwinner; you just have to take care of the housework and be faithful, showing him care and attention. Now that you're here, if you want to be as happy as me and send a lot of money back to your parents, there's only one way: marry a Chinese man and stay here."

Realizing they had been deceived by Luong Thi Xuan, the three girls were terrified and begged Xuan to let them return to their hometowns to work in the fields, clear land, and get married. They said that even if they went hungry and lacked clothing, they would still have their homeland, parents, and relatives by their side, but Xuan refused.

The road to Don Phuc commune (Con Cuong district). (Photo courtesy of the archives)

After two days of both threats and persuasion, Xuan sold Bui Thi Bao and Kha Thi Hai to two Chinese men for 10,000 yuan each.

However, Hieng absolutely refused to marry a Chinese man, begging Xuan to let her return to her hometown. Nevertheless, after selling Bao and Hai, three days later, Xuan tricked Hieng into going to her husband's boyfriend's house to see the place; if she liked it, she could marry him, otherwise, she could leave.

However, before that, Xuan had sold Hieng to this man for 10,000 yuan. Xuan left Hieng at her husband's friend's house and then called a taxi to go home. Realizing she had been sold, Hieng ran after the taxi but Xuan closed the door, preventing her from getting in, and left.

For nine years, Hieng accepted marriage in a foreign land, without family, facing language barriers, living like an unpaid servant with no news of her relatives back home.

The most heartbreaking thing was that she bore her husband two children but was denied the right to be a mother due to the authoritarian nature of her husband's family. Unable to bear it any longer, Hieng sought to escape from this family and find her way back to Vietnam.

One day in mid-January 2016, taking advantage of her husband being away on business in a distant province, Ms. Hieng called a taxi and fled her husband's home with her two children. After nearly a week on the run, suffering from hunger, cold, and fear of being tracked down and beaten by her husband's family, Ms. Hieng and her two children finally reached the Mong Cai border gate in Quang Ninh province.

Here, thanks to the intervention and assistance of the Vietnamese Border Guard, Ms. Hieng and her two children were allowed to cross the international border gate and return home safely.

Knowing that Hieng had taken her two children and fled back to Vietnam, Hieng's husband sought out Luong Thi Xuan and her husband, asking Xuan to return to Vietnam to bring the children back to China, promising a generous reward. Xuan agreed to return to Vietnam, hoping to persuade Hieng to bring the children back to China.

On April 4, 2016, upon discovering Xuan's presence in Don Phuc commune, Ms. Vi Thi Hieng filed a complaint against Xuan for human trafficking with the authorities. On April 12, 2016, the Criminal Investigation Department of Con Cuong District Police arrested Luong Thi Xuan on the aforementioned charges.

Present at the trial of Luong Thi Xuan in early September 2016, Ms. Hieng requested the court to reduce Xuan's prison sentence, but in civil matters, she requested that the defendant compensate her with over 100,000,000 VND. After considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Luong Thi Xuan to 6 years in prison for the crime of human trafficking.

Regarding civil liability, the court also ordered the defendant Luong Thi Xuan to compensate Ms. Vi Thi Hieng with a total of 68 million VND.

Central Germany