Kidnappings and abductions along the northern border province of Ha Giang in Vietnam have become bolder and more terrifying, with recent abductions taking place in daylight hours and in public market places.

On April 14, Vietnamese border guards cooperating with Chinese border soldiers were able to rescue five young women and seven children from being abducted into China, according to Viet Nam News, a major English-language newspaper.

Had the group been smuggled into China, it’s very possible that the young women might have been forced into prostitution and the young boys sold into adoption.

The story reports that in Po Chai Village, within Xin Cai Commune in the troubled Meo Vac District, mothers have witnessed the abduction of teenaged girls and a four-year-old boy. Kidnappers display weapons and physically overwhelm anyone trying to prevent the abduction.

The guards, who spent weeks tracking the group, believe that solutions to the problem might include increasing public awareness about the need to monitor children and increasing criminal punishments from maximum 20-year sentences to life imprisonment.

Already, free telephones have been installed within Meo Vac District communes so that residents can more quickly report abductions to border guards.

“Border Guards Smash Child-Trafficking Ring.”

http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?sec=1&id=5173

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