Vietnam Jails People for Human Trafficking to New Zealand

By KTT, December 15, 2016

A court in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau handed down jail sentences to four Vietnamese citizens on charges of “human trafficking” as they attempted to bring dozens to New Zealand for migration, state media reported.

At the trial held on December 13, the four defendants, namely Nguyen Giao Thong, Nguyen Tuan Kiet, Nguyen Tuan Khanh, and Tran Thi My Van, were given prison sentences of 3 years and a half, two years and a half, 18 months under probation and 18 months, respectively.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), the defendants attempted to sail to New Zealand on a ship with 21 people onboard. The Australian Navy arrested them in May 2016 and deported all of them back to Vietnam in June.

The RFA reported that all men on the boat were captured by the local police when they arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport after that. They were detained until the opening of the court proceedings.

The state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that the trial opened some days after Canberra and Hanoi signed an agreement on the return of Vietnamese nationals found to be in Australia illegally.

Canberra says the tough stance is crucial to deter people-smugglers and prevent deaths at sea.

Despite the threat of punishment from the Vietnamese government, many people have attempted to head toward Australia for a new life.

Since 2015, Australia has returned 113 Vietnamese nationals from three vessels intercepted at sea.

Statistics by Australian agencies showed that there are more than 230,000 Vietnamese people living in Australia, most of them came there from the end of the Vietnam War.