Efforts to save 29-year-old Pham Thi Kim Thanh, a native of Thoi Lai District, Can Tho City, have been made after her mother, Nguyen Kim The, 58, asked for help from relevant agencies in Vietnam.
On December 3rd, The was informed by a friend of Thanh’s, who is also living in Taiwan, of Thanh’s suffering under the violence of her Taiwanese husband and his family in Bei Kou hamlet, Hua Tan commune, Zhang Hua district, Taiwan.
Since arriving in Taiwan, Thanh had often been beaten, abused, and banned from leaving her husband’s house, Thanh’s friend said.
The contacted Thanh’s husband, Chung Yung Hua, through a Taiwanese-speaking acquaintance in an effort to discuss the issue, but the man just said he didn’t want to be disturbed and then hung up.
On December 7th, The provided newspapers and relevant agencies, including the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HCMC, with a copy of her daughter’s marriage certificate and Notice 359 issued by the Can Tho Justice Department confirming the marriage between Thanh and Chung.
Six days later, on December 13th, The received news from the Office that it had intervened in the case, and that Thanh had been taken out of her husband’s house, and would subsequently be repatriated to Vietnam.
One day earlier, Taiwanese police, after their investigation, concluded that Thanh had been mistreated by Chung, so they requested the Anti-Domestic Violence Center in Taiwan to intervene.
Thanh was later taken to a safe place for care and will be repatriated in a few weeks, the local police said.
Talking with VTC News, The said since her husband passed away a long time ago, she has struggled to bring up five children, of whom Thanh is the youngest. Due to her family’s poor financial conditions, Thanh left school after completing grade 9 to work as domestic help for a local family.
In early April 2009, a friend of Thanh’s suggested that she go along with her to Ho Chi Minh City to seek a foreign husband in an effort to help their families escape poverty.
“Thanh later married Chung, who gave her mother just VND5 million (US$238) at the wedding party, which was held on June 1st, 2009 in HCMC. Nobody from Chung’s family attended the party," The said.
A few days after the wedding, Thanh and Chung returned to Can Tho to register their marriage before leaving Vietnam for Taiwan, she added.