Ha Giang to hunt down human traffickers

21:42' 28/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – An increase in kidnapping cases involving children and women in the northern province of Ha Giang has caused concern among the local police force.
The victims were being sent to China, where they were sold or forced to work.
Children take part in a drawing contest during a campaign to fight child trafficking.
According to a provincial border post, the kidnappers stake out their intended victims. In one case, the criminals waited until the right time to abduct an ethnic minority woman who was working on a field alone and far from her home. She was taken away by kidnappers armed with a gun and knives without any chance to escape.

The kidnapping gangs include Chinese and local people. Chinese criminals were responsible for kidnapping and taking victims away, while their Vietnamese accomplices were assigned with searching for victims and keeping them under surveillance.

Late last year, two Mong ethnic minority people were brought to court after being charged with tricking a local woman into being sold to a Chinese man.

Ly Phay Sinh, 26 and Ly Mi Sung, 22, were only detained by officers at Lung Cu border post, in Dong Van District, when a trafficking victim informed authorities about the identities of the men.

Sinh said he had helped trick Giang Thi V. into being abducted across the border to China where she would have to work as a prostitute.

Vulnerable area

Nong Minh Thach, deputy head of Lung Cu border post, said slash and burn farming had forced many local people in the region, where 80% of the population belonged to Mong ethnic group, to work far from home.

"If women are kidnapped, it’s because they are working in areas near the border where there are few passers-by," said Thach.

So it’s difficult for Vietnamese police to investigate and find out who the kidnappers are as well as who has been kidnapped.

Women who have escaped and returned to Vietnam tell some shocking stories.

Many are forced to work hard on farms during the day, while at night they must have sex with the men who have bought them.

The extent of the problem is reflected in some cases where the victims of kidnapping and human trafficking were the relatives or family members of the criminals.

Ha Giang Province’s Border Post uncovered 25 cases of women being trafficked last year.

Children abducted

Colonel Dang Quang Huy, from the political work office of Ha Giang Province’s Border Post, said children were being kidnapped as well.

"Kidnapped children are passed over the border and sold to Chinese families that have a decent income but have few or no children," said Huy.

"Each child costs from between VND20mil to VND30mil, however the price depends on the agility and intelligence of the child."

"Traffickers sell women, who are usually aged from 17 to 30, for about VND20mil each, depending on if the buyer wants a wife or a labourer," said Huy.

Poverty, poor education and little ability for self-protection were also leading to an increase in kidnapping cases, he said.

Since 2000, Ha Giang Province’s border army has been informed about 40 cases of child kidnapping.

These victims were mainly boys who were kidnapped in communes located near border gates in Dong Van, Yen Minh and Meo Vac districts.

A local police officer said criminals were ruthless enough to release a one-year-old child in a remote forest after they discovered the victim was a girl.

According to local police, criminals took advantage of local people’s trust. They would persuade their victims to let them come inside their homes, and waiting for the best opportunity, would kidnap children and threaten to kill family members if their activities were uncovered.

Last December, two masked kidnappers broke into the house of Ho Mia Dia, in Seo Lung Village of Lung Cu District, while she was alone with her one-month-age son.

The kidnappers forcibly took the child from his mother and escaped quickly. Although local police were alerted immediately, the kidnappers fled with their victim to China.