Border guards in northern Ha Giang Province have arrested a local young man for illegally sending more than 30 people to China for work. Hoang Van Chuong, 23, of Dong Van District, was arrested after nine people reported to the Border Guard Station in Dong Van District that Chuong had sent them to China for work and he had appropriated their wages paid by Chinese employers. These nine people, who live in Lai Co Hamlet, Dong Van Town, Dong Van District, are among Chuong’s victims who hoped to find well paid jobs in China. All of Chuong’s victims are of ethnic minority people groups, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dac Lan, head of the district police. After his arrest, Chuong told investigators that he was paid VND200 yuan (US$32.8) by Chinese employers for every Vietnamese worker they received. Chuong said that he had lured his victims to illegally cross the border to China under his arrangement on the promise that he could help them get jobs with high salary in China.

Chuong admitted that he, on behalf of the workers,  had received from their Chinese employers 22,000 yuan ($3,600) as wages for the workers but he only  handed a part of the amount to them. Some workers even have not received any money from Chuong.

The border guard station has handed Chuong over to local police for further investigation and prosecution.

Colonel Ha Van Ly, deputy director of Ha Giang Police, said the police have conducted propaganda and asked everyone not to cross the border illegally for any reasons.