Woman sells adopted baby to China

Tran Thi Tinh, 40, a resident in northern Vinh Phuc Province, received the jail term on May 5 for “trafficking of a person under 16.”

For the same charge, Nguyen Thi Hoi, 40, and Duong Tai Mui, 46, respectively got 10 years and eight years behind bars.

Thanks to Hoi, Tinh had adopted a 21-day-old baby boy from a woman in Dong Nai Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City.

The mother of the boy, whose identity is not revealed for protection, wanted to give her newborn son away so that he could have a better life. She and a man she lived with already have a child together and due to poverty, they usually quarreled, she said.

On Jan. 13, 2021, she posted the information about her son on a Facebook page.

As a member of that group, Tinh asked Hoi to adopt the child on her behalf and promised to pay Hoi later.

The mother agreed to give the baby away at VND25 million ($1,084). As dealt by the two sides, the baby will be handed over to Hoi at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat Airport on Jan. 14, 2021.

Hoi asked Tinh to pay her VND33 million to travel to Tan Son Nhat and bring the boy to Hanoi. Tinh agreed.

Tinh then called a man identified only as Quang in China, telling him that someone wanted to sell a baby boy of 21 days old at the price of VND33 million. Quang accepted the deal.

On the morning of Jan. 13, 2021, Hoi received the baby from the mother and used the papers of another child to bring the boy to Hanoi.

Tinh then received the baby at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi on the same day and took him to her home in Vinh Phuc Province near Hanoi before informing Quang.

As instructed by Quang, Tinh brought the boy to Quang Ninh Province which borders China and handed over to Mui the next morning.

Mui then gave the boy to an unidentified woman in China near the border area.

Two days after selling her son, the mother contacted Hoi but could not reach her so she reported the case to the police.

Police found Mui later, requesting him to get in touch with the woman in China and ask for the baby. Mui got the baby back and handed the boy over to the authorities.

Tinh said she did not earn anything from the trafficking and only did that so Quang would help her find a husband in China.