A Khanh Hoa Province court on Thursday sentenced eight people to prison for supplying sex workers to foreigners, mainly Chinese tourists, while two Chinese kingpins are still at large. 

Vu Quang Huy, 38, who ran the prostitution ring and reportedly earned VND2.25 billion ($96,650) from it, got the longest term of 8.5 years. Seven accomplices, aged 23-31, got between five and 7.5 years.

All were found guilty of "brokering sex services."

Members of a prostitution ring stand trial in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa
Province, August 20, 2020. Photo by Khanh Hoa Newspaper.

A Chinese man, identified only as Guowang, rented a floor in a hotel in the famous beach town of Nha Trang that is a magnet for Chinese tourists, and set up a karaoke parlor targeting foreigners.

He hired Huy and Tian YaYong, also a Chinese national, to run the parlor and supply sex workers to customers.

The Vietnamese accomplices were responsible for hiring women sex workers for the parlor and taking them to hotels to clients once deals were negotiated.

They charged the customers, mainly Chinese men, 550 yuan ($80), and 1,500 yuan ($217) if they wanted the women to stay overnight. They and took a 40 percent cut for their pimping.

On November 28, 2018, the police raided a hotel and found four women from the parlor having sex with Chinese men. Based on their testimonies, the police began an investigation and arrested other members of the ring.

But Guowang and Tian eluded them and remain at large.

Khanh Hoa Province received around 5.8 million Chinese visitors last year, or almost a third of the 18 million foreigners who visited the country.

Under Vietnamese law, sex workers are warned and fined VND100,000-300,000 ($4.3-13) while pimps face jail terms.