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Vietnamese authorities seek family of pregnant 12-year-old in China

Vietnamese authorities seek family of pregnant 12-year-old in China

Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 10:58 GMT+7

A search has begun for the family of a pregnant 12-year-old in China who Chinese police suspect to be a victim of human trafficking sold into the country as a child bride.

Deputy spokesperson of the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang confirmed on Tuesday that the country’s authorities had been notified about the girl’s story and was in the process of verifying the information with their Chinese counterparts.

Earlier this month, a 12-week pregnant girl, accompanied by a Chinese man and woman, was taken for a prenatal check-up at a hospital in Xuzhou City in eastern-central China’s Jiangsu Province.

The 35-year-old Chinese man, reportedly surnamed Liu, claimed to be the youngster’s husband and that she was 20 years old.

Doctors who performed the check-up grew suspicious and notified the police, as the girl looked younger than her stated age and could not speak any Mandarin.

Initial questioning by Chinese police revealed that the girl was in fact a 12 year old who claimed to have been born in Vietnam.

A man who took his pregnant wife to hospital for a check-up was detained by police after the "woman" was found to be no older than 12

The 12-year-old girl (in blue) is seen in this file photo.

Hang said the Embassy of Vietnam in China and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Shanghai had been instructed to make contact with local authorities for verification immediately, the latter having worked with Jiangsu Province Police to arrange a meeting with the girl.

“We will inform the press as soon as we finish working with Chinese authorities,” Hang said.

The girl is most likely an abductee sold into China between 2010 and 2011, Maj. Gen. Ho Sy Tien, director of the Criminal Police Department in Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper during an interview the same day.

According to the major general, officers have already been dispatched to an area in Vietnam where the girl claimed to have lived.

“So far there have been no results. We have yet to find her family though the initial findings of the case have been published in the media so that anyone who may know her can inform the police,” Tien said.

The police chief added that his department would work with their Chinese counterparts today to discuss cooperation in verifying the girl’s identity.

The 12-year-old girl said during initial questioning by Chinese police that her house was in the Thanh Nhan or Nguyen Du Wards in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, according to Deputy Chief of Hai Ba Trung District Police Col. Nguyen Thanh Tin, who cited information already circulating on social media.

She also claimed to have lived in a family of seven, who are her mother Luu Thi Mai, father Dung, two brothers Thuy Ly and Thuy Xuan, and three sisters Thuy (or Thi) Xoan, Thuy (or Thi) Giai and Thi Mai.

Col. Tin said officers had been dispatched to the two wards to verify the information and to search for the girl’s family.

“We are expecting to find the girl’s family soon, except of course if the information she’s provided is inaccurate,” Col. Tin said.

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