Vietnam may have attracted Western investment bankers before the global financial meltdown. But the country has a long way to go before it can really be considered civilized, as shown by the following report.
Approximately 130 women were held prisoner, some in dog cages, at a Ho Chi Minh City brothel.
The women were forced to work as prostitutes 18 hours per day, local media reports say.
The Thanh Nien newspaper said police found the women after launching a raid triggered by letters from the captive women, but the brothel owner got away.
The Vietnamese newspaper said the women, many of whom were from poor rural families, were kept as slaves in debt bondage and if they refused to perform sexual acts on customers they were severely punished by the owner, known as Tri, and his men.
"In nine months, I have seen more than 10 girls try to escape but they were captured, tortured by Tri and put in dog cages," said one of the rescued women.
POSTSCRIPT: Regarding dog cages, Vietnam, like China, Korea and Taiwan, are incredibly cruel to animals--especially dogs. Disgusting but true: dog meat is part of their everyday cuisine. Repeat: dog meat is part of their everyday cuisine. They justify their atrocities by saying that in their culture dogs are used for meat. This is not at all true--even in Korea or Vietnam. Dogs are pets there, too. The Korean Police even has a dog squad. Dogs trust their masters, and so-called dog farmers viciously exploit this trust to kill dogs.
