Officials in Hanoi have recently investigated a philanthropic institution, Bo De Pagoda, which housed children and older adults and have found that the institution “suffered loose management and offered substandard healthcare” in addition to allegations of child trafficking, says Ha An of Than Nien News. The officials have, therefore, begun transporting some of the children and elderly adults from the pagoda to a state-run facility, the Thuy An Center for the Elderly and Disabled Children in Ba Vi District.
Until recently, the pagoda had been known as a shelter for children who had been abandoned, orphaned, or born with HIV. That is, until 4 August 2014 when a staff member at the pagoda, Nguyen Thi Thanh Trang, was arrested for selling a 2 year-old boy from the orphanage. Donors and volunteers concerned about the pagoda’s suspected involvement in a large-scale child trafficking operation, urged the police to investigate the center. While the police dismissed the allegations of trafficking, they did acknowledge the center’s failure to meet official requirements in terms of space, hygiene, equipment, and staffing. Officials plan to relocate all of the pagoda’s residents to five government centers throughout the city.