Vietnamese couple sentenced for kidnapping and forcing migrant workers into unpaid labor

Central News Agency, Kaohsiung, May 28. A woman surnamed Fan and her boyfriend surnamed Nguyen were sentenced to two years in prison each by the Qiaotou District Court for kidnapping two Indonesian migrant workers and forcing them to work without pay. The court found them guilty of violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. Another Vietnamese accomplice was sentenced to one year and four months for depriving others of their freedom. The court determined that the debts claimed by the defendants were fabricated. As former employers, the defendants were well aware of the workers' vulnerable status but chose to exploit them. The court considered the use of threats, confinement, and fraud in its sentencing. Nguyen, whose residency permit was revoked in 2021, will be deported after serving his sentence.