Cops bust surrogacy ring
The Public Security Ministry's Criminal Police Department said on Friday that the gang, headed by a man known only as Wang, was a highly organised criminal network using social media, secure communications and fake identities to evade detection.
The case came to light when Division 5 of the Criminal Police detected suspicious activity on social media involving commercial surrogacy with links to other countries.
Investigators later confirmed that financially vulnerable Vietnamese women were being recruited as surrogates, with some taken to China or Cambodia for embryo transfers before returning to Vietnam for the remainder of their pregnancy.
Following orders from Senior Lt-Gen Nguyen Van Long, Deputy Minister and head of the Investigation Police Agency, officers launched a series of raids on July 15.
Suspects taken in for questioning included Quach Thi Thuong, 39, from Lam Dong; Pham Thi Hoai Thu, 38; Phung Thi Nuong, 29; and Nguyen Thi Hang, 29, from Hanoi; Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, 33, from Ninh Binh; and Lo Thi Thanh, 29, from Son La, along with other related individuals.
Eleven babies, aged between nine days and three months, were rescued.
Investigations revealed that Thuong, using the Zalo account 'Coca', later renamed 'Pepsi', was recruited by Wang in late 2021 to find women under 35 in good health to act as surrogates.
She also hired caregivers to look after newborns and arrange birth registration, DNA tests, paternity certificates and travel documents.
The rescued infants are now in the care of an organisation run by the Vietnam Women's Union's Centre for Women and Development.
The authorities are working to ensure the babies' safety while the investigation continues. — Vietnam News/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
Affair with student catches up with lecturer
Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN A MARRIED college lecturer was arrested after running away with his student who was engaged to another man, Malaysia Nanban reported. Identified only as Praveen, 45, he was a professor at a private college in Bengaluru, India. Despite being married with two kids, he started an affair with one of his female students. When her parents discovered the affair, they reprimanded Praveen and arranged a marriage for her with someone else. When she went missing, her parents went searching for her. Following a report with the local police, authorities located Praveen and arrested him. > The daily also reported that a five-year-old boy from Johor won a gold medal at an international science innovation competition. Heshwanth Sivaprakash won the award at the Borneo International Innovation Creativity Expo 2025. An eco-friendly paper soap called EcoEase developed by the boy won him the award. Students from 13 countries took part in the competition. The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
The Star
40 minutes ago
- The Star
Young wife accused of stealing from older artist hubby
Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN AN 87-year-old calligraphy master in China is said to have lost antiques and paintings worth two billion yuan (RM1.2bil), allegedly stolen by his wife who is 50 years younger than him, China Press reported. Fan Zeng married radio presenter Xu Meng, 37, last year. It is believed that he got to know her through his son. Their union was a talking point among netizens due to the wide age gap. Apparently, Xu had been spotted meeting with a younger man at private clubs. The mysterious man was said to have close ties with an art investment company that had sold several of Fan's works at below market prices. Sources claimed that Xu took advantage of her position as the lady of the house to empty Fan's collection of calligraphy and paintings. Fan's students, relatives, friends and dealers claimed to have lost contact with the master. Xu has also reportedly disappeared. The news sparked heated online discussion, with many saying they suspected Xu of harbouring ill intentions when the couple married. > The daily also reported that Pulau Pangkor saw a three-fold increase in its anchovies harvest over the last five years, making it the largest anchovy-producing location in Perak. Statistics from the Fisheries Department showed that the island produced only 879.93 tonnes of anchovies worth RM8.87mil in 2020. Last year, it recorded 2,844 tonnes worth RM42.67mil. As a result, Perak is now one of the largest anchovy-producing states in Malaysia, second only to Sabah. According to Fisheries Malaysia director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain, Pangkor is an important location for the country's fisheries industry as it is a production hub for high-quality anchovies that sets the industry benchmark. The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Headmistress, 44, dies in school staff room
TAMPIN: A headmistress of a Chinese national-type primary school in Gemencheh, near here, died after losing consciousness in the staff room. Tampin police chief Superintendent Amiruddien Sariman said police received a report about the incident at 11.25am and were informed that the victim had been resting in her room as she was feeling unwell. "Initial investigations found that the 44-year-old woman had earlier attended the school's Entrepreneur Day Programme. At around 9am, a colleague discovered her unconscious and she was taken to Gemencheh Health Clinic, where she was pronounced dead by the attending doctor," he said in a statement today. Amiruddien added that the deceased was sent to the Forensic Department of Tampin Hospital for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death, and the case has been classified as sudden death (SDR).
