Baby-selling ring sentenced

LookAtVietnam – Six officials from social welfare centres in northern Nam Dinh province were convicted on Monday for falsifying papers for 266 adopted children

Six officials from social welfare centres in northern Nam Dinh province were convicted for falsifying papers for 266 adopted children. (Photo: VNN)

They are among 16 people who were caught trying to falsify papers. The inaccurate documents claimed that the children were abandoned, which then made them eligible for overseas adoption from 2005 to July 2008. Vu Dinh Khan, director of a social welfare centre in Truc Ninh district and head of Viet Hung Commune’s Health Clinic, was sentenced to four and a half years in jail, while Tran Thi Luong former head of the culture bureau and director of a welfare centre for children in Y Yen district, got three and a half years.

Another official, Truong Cong Lich, was sentenced to three years and Vu Van Kiem, Tran Trong Lam and Vu Dinh Loi received two years in jail.

The other 10 in the ring were given suspended sentences of between 15 and 18 months at the trial that ended last Monday.

The ring had managed to collect 354 children from different social welfare centres and hospitals. They then used falsified documents for 266 children. The ring was able to get 323 children adopted and earned between VND5 million (US$277) to tens million of dong in total.

According to the judge, all of the illegal funds will be confiscated and partly returned to the Truc Ninh district’s social welfare centres.

Nam Dinh province has two social welfare centres, and both are still operating with three to five children each.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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