Police in Vietnam have taken legal action against four people for pimping and facilitating prostitution that involved Russian women. 

Four men, including Nguyen Dai Viet, 40, Nguyen Manh Thuyet, 35, Huynh Cong Duc, 23, and Nguyen Xuan Thien, 45, have been indicted, Phan Van Cuong, a senor police officer in Khanh Hoa Province, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday.

Viet was charged with sheltering prostitutes while the others were facing pimping charges.

Investigators said that Thuyet got acquainted with Russian women and asked them to become prostitutes. 

Securing the women’s consent, he took photos of them and uploaded the pictures together with his phone number to the Internet to advertise their service.

Customers would then call Thuyet for arrangement and he would pocket commission as a pimp.

Thuyet also “shook hands” with Viet, who owns the Mua He guesthouse on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in the provincial capital of Nha Trang, to arrange for the Russian prostitutes to offer their service to customers at this place.

Two Russian women were caught selling sex to local customers in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, October 15, 2018. Photo: Police

Police raided the Mua He guesthouse on October 15, catching two Russian women selling sex to two local men.

The prostitutes were then identified as P.I., 32. And I.A., 39, while the two customers were Pham Van T., a 32-year-old from Hai Phong City, and Tran Minh T., a 52-year-old from Khanh Hoa.

Thuyet admitted to pimping for the women when being questioned by investigators.

He cited Thien and Duc as his accessories. The two men also worked as motorbike taxi drivers.

Thuyet added that he had pimped for Russian prostitutes since April 2017 who charged VND5-7 million (US$215-300) serving each customer.  

He pocketed VND3.5 million of the amount, the women got VND2 million, while the rest went to the others.

Prostitution in any form is illegal in Vietnam.

Lawmakers have debated whether to legalize sex work over the past years but no final conclusion has ever been reached.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!