A ‘mentally-challenged’ Vietnamese man is still languishing in Serchhip district jail of Mizoram as authorities are caught in a deadlock about his extradition.
District jail inspection team led by principal magistrate Josangzeli Tlau, who inspected the prison on December 6 found the Vietnamese man, identified as Dahn, serving an additional 18 months after he had already completed his two-year prison term on June 4 last year.
The Vietnamase wandered into Mizoram in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic without any document. He was first seen in the state on March 28 when he wanted to venture into Thekte, a village in Champhai district bordering Myanmar, but was denied entry by village authorities.
After moving around places in Champhai and Serchhip districts, he finally ventured into East Lungdar village in Serchhip district where he was provided with food and shelter.
As he spoke a different language, nobody knew which country he was from. So, some villagers hit upon the idea of showing him the flags of countries. He gestured he was from Vietnam when he was shown the flag of his country.
Dahn was subsequently handed over to the Serchhip police, who formally arrested him and charged him under the Foreigners Act. This offense carried a two-year imprisonment term and a Rs 2000 fine. Unable to pay the fine, he found himself compelled to serve an additional two months.
While he completed his prison term on June 4, 2022, he remained in jail as authorities grappled with challenges in extraditing him.
“Serchhip DC Nazuk Kumar has communicated with the central home secretary, additional secretary of external affairs, and the Vietnam embassy. Simultaneously, the jail superintendent updated the IG Prison on November 10. Despite these efforts, no positive results have been received thus far,” sources said.
At the time of his arrest, the villagers reached out to a Mizo lady, who worked as a missionary in Ho Chi Minh City. A WhatsApp video between the two revealed that he hails from Can Tho, a city in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region.
Countries that lie between Can Tho and Mizoram are Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
