Spain returns passports to Vietnamese citizens accused of sexual assault

[ASEAN NOW News]

Police officers stand guard in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Javier Barbancho

 

Spanish media reports say that a provincial court has returned the passports of two Vietnamese nationals accused of sexual assault in Mallorca and ordered them to return home.

 

Spain's Ultima Hora newspaper reported Sunday that the Provincial Court of Palma decided August 3 to return the passports of two Vietnamese citizens accused of "sexually abusing a 17-year-old minor."

 

No additional information was reported about the conclusions drawn by investigators or the court.

 

On June 28, two Vietnamese citizens were arrested on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain, for allegedly raping a 17-year-old British girl.

 

A spokesperson of the Mallorca police department told VnExpress on July 1 that two Vietnamese men, 42 and 38 years old, had been arrested over sexual assault allegations.

 

He refused to disclose their identities and occupations.

 

According to local media, the two Vietnamese male citizens were an actor and a musician.

 

They appeared in court on June 28 and were granted bail, but their passports were confiscated by authorities.

 

The British girl testified in court, confirming her previous testimony to the police.

 

On June 28, she and her family left Mallorca.

 

According to a source in local law enforcement, the two Vietnamese citizens were staying at the Sant Elm hotel in Mallorca, while the British girl and her family stayed somewhere else.

 

On the evening of June 24, she met and struck up a conversation with two Vietnamese men at a restaurant.

 

VN Express reported that they had an "intimate" conversation before returning to one of the two Vietnamese men's hotel rooms.

 

The girl then reported the "rape" in the hotel room to the local police.

 

After receiving the news, the local civil defense agency's patrol unit went to the hotel to take the British girl to the Son Espases hospital.

 

They also arrested the two Vietnamese men.

 

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