Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam β When Ezeigwe Evaristus Chukwuebuka, a Nigerian man, completed his year sentence for financial fraud in Vietnam, he expected to fly home and see his family. However, instead of getting on a plane to Nigeria, he was transferred to a detention centre an hour southeast of Ho Chi Minh City in Long An province. Chukwuebuka was detained in the centre for two years, at times held in solitary confinement with his ankles locked in iron shackles as guards pepper-sprayed his face.
Although Chukwuebuka was released, he says the situation for those still in detention remains complicated. Chukwuebuka says at least 16 foreign detainees are being held long-term at the detention centre, which he says could hold as many as people.
All are being detained until they can repay court fees and fines as well as provide compensation to victims they are deemed to owe as a result of their crimes. Al Jazeera spoke to seven other detainees in the detention centre, all of whom said they believe they will never be released due to difficulties in arranging payment of their alleged debts.
One man from the Netherlands has been in the centre since it first opened in No means of communication, no way of making money or borrowing money from somewhere, from inside here. Articles If individuals are unable to pay, the case will be settled according to the law on the enforcement of civil judgements, in which both the state and victims may have a say on the repayment of fines and compensation.
But the reality, according to the rights worker, is a legal black hole that is hard to escape without the settlement of the alleged debt or the assistance of a foreign embassy. Tye Soon Hin, a year-old Malaysian, was jailed for 12 years alongside two of his fellow citizens for using fake credit cards to steal money in One of the trio, Teh Chee Wan, can afford to repay the money he owes but has been told he cannot be released until all three, who were tried together, have settled their debts.
