Vietnam jails four over Essex migrant lorry deaths

Police move the lorry container where bodies were discovered, in Grays, Essex, Britain October 23, 2019.
REUTERS
Kit Heren15 September 2020

Four people have been sent to prison in Vietnam for their part in the deaths of 39 migrants smuggled into the UK last year, according to state media.

The defendants, aged between 26 and 36, were found guilty of "organising, brokering illegal emigration" and jailed for between two and a half years and seven and a half years respectively.

The trial took place in the Ha Tinh province in central Vietnam on Monday and was reported in the official provincial newspaper.

But the father of one of the men who died in the tragedy said that he thought that the defendants deserved lighter punishments.

Officials move coffins containing the victims at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi in November 2019 
EPA

Nguyen Dinh Gia, whose son Luong, 20, lost his life in the lorry, told Agence France-Presse: "The people involved were just trying to help and then the accident happened.

“He was an adult who made his own decision and joined the trip voluntarily, with the aim to improve his life, earning money to alleviate our poverty.

“It has been almost a year but whenever I think about this, it’s still painful," he added.

The bodies of the Vietnamese migrants were found on an industrial estate in the Essex town of Grays shortly after the container arrived in Purfleet on a ferry in the early morning of October 23, 2019.

Among the men, women and children were 10 teenagers – including two 15-year-old boys.

The lorry in Essex after the bodies were discovered 
AFP via Getty Images

The inquest found that their cause of death was asphyxia and hyperthermia – a lack of oxygen and overheating – in an enclosed space.

Several people have been arrested, charged and tried in the UK, France and Belgium in connection with their deaths.

Lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 25, who took the container from the port where it arrived in Essex, pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey in April. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

Robinson, of Craigavon in Northern Ireland, also admitted acquiring criminal property. He denied a further charge of transferring criminal property.

Police on Eastern Avenue, Grays, Essex, where the bodies of the migrants were discovered 
PA

Ronan Hughes, 40, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August.

Lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 23, of Mayobridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, was extradited from Ireland to face 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

He is alleged to have driven the lorry trailer to Zeebrugge in Belgium before it sailed to England.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in