A woman has been detained by the Vietnamese authorities and is currently being investigated for the sale of newborn babies to China.
Moong Thi Oanh, 32, from Nghe An province is currently facing charges of “organizing and/or coercing other persons to flee abroad” which is punishable by a jail sentence of up to 20 years, VN Express reported.
Oanh, who was placed under arrest due to her pregnancy, is reportedly married to a Chinese citizen and has been living in China for a long period of time. In 2018, she returned to Vietnam and convinced four pregnant women from the Ky Son District to head to China and sell their babies for between 40 million and 80 million Vietnamese dong each (US$1,725—$3,451).
In September 2018, Oanh’s husband was driving the group of women when their car was involved in an accident and flipped over, killing one of the women and hospitalizing three others.
Non-profit organization Blue Dragon worked with Nghe An Police in a rescue operation that successfully brought the victims back home on January 26.
Nghe An Province has been a prominent hotspot for human trafficking in recent years. At least 27 pregnant women were reported to have traveled to China in order to sell their babies in 2018.
China’s former one-child policy and many years of illegal abortions of female foetuses have created a serious gender imbalance in China.
This has led to the kidnapping and trafficking of women, young girls and babies from neighboring countries.