VZCZCXRO7941
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0698 2090851
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280851Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9952
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 6029
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7395
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS HANOI 000698 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, EAP/MLS, and EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM PREL ELAB VM
 
SUBJECT: Vietnam's Police Discuss TIP and Child Sex Crimes 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: On July 23, the Deputy Director of the Criminal 
Police Department in the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Colonel 
Ho Sy Tien, discussed trends in human trafficking, including labor 
exploitation of men and the manipulation of tourist visas and 
fraudulent marriages for cross-border prostitution.  Tien also 
highlighted current measures to protect children from sexual 
exploitation, as well as the difficulties faced by MPS in the 
investigation and prosecution of child sex crimes.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On July 23, Poloff met with Colonel Ho Sy Tien, Deputy 
Director General of MPS's Criminal Police Department, to review new 
developments in trafficking in persons (TIP).  Tien characterized 
trafficking in men for labor exploitation as a new trend in Vietnam. 
 The most frequent scenario, he said, involved men who are offered 
"good jobs" overseas -- usually to China -- only to be forced into 
hard labor.  He cited one example where several men from Hai Phong 
who were forced to work at a Chinese brick factory.  Through 
cooperation with Chinese authorities, MPS was able to rescue the men 
and return them to Vietnam. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Turning to the issue of female victims, Tien indicated 
that women from rural areas were often misled by fraudulent labor 
opportunities and then sold to brothels on the border of Cambodia 
and China, with some eventually sent to third countries.  Other 
women, Tien said, were also trafficked abroad for prostitution under 
the premise of false foreign marriages.  Tien said that cross-border 
prostitution may also occur under the guise of tourism, with women 
traveling overseas on, say, a 30-day tourist visa, where they work 
in a brothel and then return to Vietnam.  These women may or may not 
be aware of the type of work they are being sent to do, Tien 
emphasized, which puts them at risk for trafficking. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On the subject of child sex tourism, Tien stated that 
despite economic growth and a tremendous upsurge in Vietnam's 
tourist industry, there had only been three cases since 2005 that 
merited investigation.  Tien posited that unlike in Cambodia, 
foreign tourists rarely come to Vietnam to sexually exploit 
children, though he speculated that some might engage prostitutes 
who are between 16 to 18 years of age (legally adults under 
Vietnamese law).  He also suggested that children sold into 
fraudulent foreign adoptions were sometimes trafficked into the 
child sex trade. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In July, MPS initiated a two-month campaign to focus on 
combating the trafficking of women and children in the border 
regions.  Tien said that the General Department of Police would work 
closely with the Border Army and other agencies to rescue and 
repatriate trafficking victims.  Highlighting his department's other 
efforts to protect children, Tien noted that Vietnam had cooperated 
with Australia to provide training to more than 100 Vietnamese 
officers on investigative techniques targeting child sex tourism. 
In previous years, MPS had worked with UNICEF to provide training 
materials to officers in Hanoi and HCMC as well as to set up 
"friendly interview centers" in HCMC, Hai Phong, Dong Thap, and Lao 
Cai to question children and suspects in child sexual exploitation 
cases. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Tien explained that under Vietnamese law, it was 
important, but sometimes difficult, to establish firmly the ages of 
the victims of child sex crimes.  Sexual abuse of children under 13 
can result in capital punishment, Tien explained, while prison 
sentences of up to 15 years are handed down for the sexual abuse of 
children between 13 and 16.  The lack of accurate birth records, 
particularly for children in rural areas, was a complicating factor 
in proving child sexual exploitation cases, he said.  Other 
challenges stem from the fact that children often find it too 
difficult to report their abuse to the authorities or to their 
families, making it hard to find, catch, and prosecute perpetrators. 
 Tien acknowledged that MPS was still new to combating child sex 
crime, and requested U.S. and international assistance to train 
Vietnamese officers and obtain updated equipment. 
 
MICHALAK