3 Vietnamese indicted on human trafficking charges

Kaohsiung, July 22 (CNA) The Taiwan Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office in Kaohsiung recently indicted three Vietnamese individuals on charges of illegal detention, intimidation and human trafficking for actions committed jointly as a group of three or more.

The three individuals were a Vietnamese woman surnamed Phạm who obtained Taiwanese identity via marriage, her Vietnamese boyfriend surnamed Nguyễn, and another Vietnamese friend also surnamed Nguyễn, prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday.

Phạm and her boyfriend, a migrant worker who left his original employer, were involved in the construction sector in Taichung, illegally brokering unaccounted for migrant workers to work at several construction sites, according to prosecutors.

In February, two undocumented Indonesian workers employed by the group sought other jobs in Yilan County due to poor working conditions.

According to prosecutors, Phạm posted a wanted notice for the two on social media, tracked them down, and threatened them.

Later, the three indicted individuals, along with two other undocumented workers, forcibly abducted the victims in Yilan, confiscated their passports, and unlawfully restricted their freedom, prosecutors have alleged in the indictment.

Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly fabricated large debts in the victims' names, threatened to report them to the police if they did not repay the "debts," and forced them to work without pay.

The three Vietnamese individuals were arrested, while two other undocumented workers, whose whereabouts remain unknown, have been listed as wanted.

Phạm and her boyfriend are currently being held in prosecutorial custody.