Vietnamese boy sold as dog meat
( 2003-11-23 14:21) (cnn.com)
Vietnamese drug addicts
kidnapped a mute teenager, bundled him in a sack and sold him to a dog-meat
eatery as a stray canine, state media said on Saturday.
A dog meat vendor
in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. [AP Photo] | The
Gia Dinh Xa Hoi (Family and Society) newspaper said the two addicts grabbed the
homeless 13-year-old from a busy market in Halong city.
Halong, around 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the capital, Hanoi, attracts
hordes of tourists to its spectacular bay and rock formations, a United Nations
heritage site.
The kidnappers tied up the boy, bundled him into a sack and sold him to the
restaurant for 300,000 dong ($19), the newspaper said.
The restaurateur, shocked to find the boy, fed him and released him.
Police were investigating
the case but had made no arrests, said the newspaper.
Dog meat is a delicacy in some Asian countries such
as South Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos. In Vietnam, eating specifically
farmed breeds is believed to bring health benefits and is seen as auspicious.
Early in November, Thai police rescued more than 800 dogs from smugglers who
were taking the animals to Vietnam to sell for meat.
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