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Agence France-Presse

Vietnam has jailed four people over their roles in the deaths of 39 migrants found in a refrigerated truck in Britain last year, state media said on Tuesday.
The deaths of the 31 men and eight women from Vietnam, who were found in a vehicle near London in October 2019, highlighted the enormous risks of illegal migration to Europe and sparked an international outcry.
The four defendants – the youngest aged 26 and the oldest 36 – were given prison sentences of between two-and-a-half years and seven-and-a-half years by a court in central Ha Tinh province on Monday, according to the official provincial newspaper.
Why are so many Chinese and Vietnamese being trafficked to UK?
They were found guilty of “organising, brokering illegal emigration”, it said, adding that three others had been given suspended sentences.
But Nguyen Dinh Gia, who lost his 20-year-old son Luong in the tragedy, said he believed the defendants should not have been given jail terms.
“The people involved were just trying to help and then the accident happened,” he said, adding that he had not known the trial was taking place.
“He was an adult who made his own decision and joined the trip voluntarily, with the aim to improve his life, earning money to alleviate our poverty.”
Gia said his son had wanted to travel to Britain from France, where he had been living illegally since 2018.
Families contemplate perilous journey of suspected Essex truck victims
The journey to Britain, where he aimed to look for work in a nail salon, would have cost him around £11,000 (US$14,000).
“It has been almost a year but whenever I think about this, it’s still painful,” Gia said.

Luong and the majority of the other migrants came from a handful of poor central provinces, hotspots for illegal migration to Europe.
The truck carrying the victims – including two 15-year-old boys – arrived on a ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge in the early hours of October 23.
They died from lack of oxygen and overheating, according to postmortem examinations.
Second truck driver pleads guilty over deaths of 39 Vietnamese immigrants
A number of people have been arrested and charged in Britain, France and Belgium in connection with the case, including the driver of the truck, Maurice Robinson, of Northern Ireland, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Ronan Hughes, 40, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month.


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Vietnam

Vietnam jails four over their role in UK truck deaths of 39 migrants

Defendants are seen during a trial in Ha Tinh province against those involved in the deaths of 39 migrants found in a refrigerated truck in Britain last year. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO: Tran Thi Hien, mother of Anna Bui Thi Nhung, one of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a truck near London last year, cries while following an ambulance carrying her daughter's coffin during the funeral ceremony at her village in Nghe An province, Vietnam November 30, 2019. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo

Second truck driver pleads guilty over deaths of 39 Vietnamese immigrants in Britain

Haulier Ronan Hughes. Photo: Handout via AFP

British police forensics officers inspect the truck that contained 39 dead bodies at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, east of London. Photo: AFP

Vietnam sentences brothers to death after three policemen killed in Dong Tam land rights clashes

Farmers of Dong Tam village during their trial. Photo: Reuters

Farmers of Dong Tam village stand between police during the verdict in their trial over the deaths of three police officers and a farmer during a land dispute in January 9, at a court in Hanoi, Vietnam September 14, 2020. Doan Tan/VNA via REUTERS THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO SALES NO ARCHIVES. VIETNAM OUT.

Coronavirus: British pilot goes home after recovering from brink of death in Vietnam

Stephen Cameron is wheeled out of the hospital to the airport to leave Vietnam on July 11, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

In this photo provided by Cho Ray Hospital, a doctor attends to “Patient 91”, a British pilot who survived COVID-19 and seated on a wheelchair as he was recovering at Cho Ray hospital on June 11, 2020 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The British pilot who was Vietnam’s most critical COVID-19 patient is virus free and has recovered enough to make the long flight home next Sunday, doctors said, Monday, July 6. (Cho Ray Hospital via AP)

UK truck deaths: families of missing Vietnamese migrants stuck with crippling debt

Nguyen Dinh Gia (right), father of Nguyen Dinh Luong, one of the suspected truck death victims, is embraced by a friend at his home in Ha Tinh province, Vietnam, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Hoang Lanh, father of 18-year old Hoang Van Tiep who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, looks at his son's photograph on his phone at their house in Dien Thinh commune of Vietnam's Nghe An province on October 28, 2019. - Vietnamese officials collected DNA samples on October 27 from relatives of those feared among 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, a security source and a family member told AFP, as villagers held emotional prayers for the victims. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

A handout photo made available by Essex Police in London on October 29, 2019, shows Christopher Hughes (L) and his brother Ronan Hughes, who are being sought in connection with the discovery of the 39 Vietnamese bodies found in a truck in Grays on October 23. - British police probing the deaths of 39 people in a truck said Tuesday they want to question two Northern Irish brothers on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking. Essex Police, which is investigating last week's disaster, said they wanted to speak to Ronan Hughes, 40, and his 34-year-old brother Christopher, who are both from Armagh. Eight women and 31 men were found Wednesday in a refrigeration truck trailer that entered Britain on a ferry from Belgium. Several Vietnamese families fear their relatives are among the dead. (Photo by HO / Essex Police / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ESSEX POLICE " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Tran Thi Hien (C), mother of Bui Thi Nhung, who is feared to be among the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain, is consoled inside her house in Vietnam's Nghe An province on October 26, 2019. - A photo of her missing daughter Bui Thi Nhung, an offering of fruit and a bouquet of flowers -- a makeshift shrine laid by a desperate mother in a remote Vietnamese town many fear was home to some of the 39 people found dead in a truck in Britain. More than 20 Vietnamese are feared to be among the bodies found in a refrigerated trailer in an industrial park in Essex east of London on October 23. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam arrests eight in connection with UK truck deaths

A police forensic team inspect the truck in which the 39 bodies were found on October 23. Photo: AP

Catholic priest Anthony Dang Huu Nam holds a candle during a mass prayer for 39 people found dead in the back of a truck near London, UK at My Khanh parish in Nghe An province, Vietnam October 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

epa07937880 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers a speech during the opening of the eighth session of the National Assembly's 14th tenure in Hanoi, Vietnam, 21 October 2019 EPA-EFE/MINH HOANG

News

Asia

Southeast Asia


The bodies of 31 Vietnamese men and eight women were found in a refrigerated truck near London in October. Numerous arrests were made
Vietnam said the four were found guilty of organising and brokering illegal emigration, and another three were given suspended sentences.



The bodies of 39 migrants from Vietnam were found in a refrigerated truck near London in October. Numerous arrests were made in Europe and Vietnam.


UK truck deaths

Britain

Vietnam jails four over their role in UK truck deaths of 39 migrants

The bodies of 31 Vietnamese men and eight women were found in a refrigerated truck near London in October. Numerous arrests were made Vietnam said the four were found guilty of organising and brokering illegal emigration, and another three were given suspended sentences.

The bodies of 31 Vietnamese men and eight women were found in a refrigerated truck near London in October. Numerous arrests were made

Vietnam said the four were found guilty of organising and brokering illegal emigration, and another three were given suspended sentences.