Vietnam sentences four operators of high-class prostitution ring
HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese court has sentenced four women to up to
eight years in jail for running a prostitution ring for rich clients, a court official
and state-controlled media said Wednesday.
The alleged ring leader, Huynh Thi Ngoc Quynh, 36, received an eight-year
sentence in the one-day trial Tuesday in southern Ho Chi Minh City, a court
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Three alleged accomplices received jail terms of two to four years, also for
brokering prostitutes, said the official. The names of the women were not
immediately available.
The ring, which serviced rich clients, was uncovered last October when police
raided several places in Ho Chi Minh City and the neighboring resort city of
Vung Tau.
Quynh advertised the ring on the Internet and boasted that some of the
prostitutes were former models and actresses, the Thanh Nien (Young People)
newspaper said Wednesday.
It said uncovering the ring was the last major achievement of former Ho Chi
Minh City Police Chief Duong Minh Ngoc, who was arrested early this year for
alleged links to a notorious underworld gang.
The communist government estimates there are nearly 40,000 prostitutes in
Vietnam, but the actual figure could be considerably higher.
Prostitution has become an increasingly difficult problem, with a rise in the
number of juvenile prostitutes as well as those who are HIV positive.
A recent inspection of nearly 20,000 entertainment establishments by the
government's Anti-Social Vices Department found 30 percent were linked to
"social evils," especially prostitution, the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper
reported Wednesday.
The Associated Press - September 25, 2002.
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