Police Investigating the Disappearance of 100 Vietnamese Brides in China

Police in China are investigating the disappearance of more than 100 Vietnamese women who were sold as brides to Chinese bachelors, local media said Thursday.

The women were sold through a matchmaker who went missing with them in late November, the BBC reported. An official reportedly told the China Daily newspaper that an “organized ring” might have been involved.

The men reportedly paid the matchmaker as much as $18,600 for their wives, who disappeared on Nov. 20 after telling their husbands they were going for a meal with other Vietnamese brides.

According to another Chinese publication, Jinghua Daily, one of the brides returned to her husband and said she had lost consciousness after the meal. She reportedly woke up in a small house far away from her village and was told she would be going elsewhere to “find a new husband.”

[BBC]