December 12, 2024
The sexual assault involved two Vietnamese officials who were in New Zealand to prepare for the visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in early March 2024, a week before his arrival on March 10.
Police said two women in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, were sexually assaulted in a vulgar manner by two members of the two Vietnamese officials. But because there is no extradition treaty between the two countries and the suspects had left New Zealand by the time police identified them, they were not prosecuted.
The Vietnamese preparation team visited the Saigon restaurant in Wellington, where two young waitresses, one of whom, Victoria University student Alison Cook, told Stuff the details of the night she and a female colleague were sexually assaulted.
In an exclusive interview, Ms Cook told Stuff that the next morning she discovered a mark on her nipple. But her memory was blank: “I don’t know what happened. I just know something bad happened.”
Ms Cook pieced together her fragmented memories of the night she was sexually assaulted.
She recalled Vietnamese officials “pulling us into their arms, pinning us against the wall.”
The 19-year-old was one of two waitresses who were groped and injured by two Vietnamese officials.
Ms Cook recalled the fragmented details of the night she was sexually assaulted at the restaurant where she worked. She remembers her hair being pulled back as a man poured whisky down her throat. At one point an officer grabbed her – and at another point her breasts were groped and her nipples pinched.
The two victims later reported the incidents to police.
Police have launched an investigation, reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses.
Police have refused to release footage from that night to Stuff or Ms Cook, who is entitled to information about herself under privacy laws.
The investigation concluded that “Police do not doubt that the two women were sexually assaulted by the two men,” police said in a press release.
“Police have identified the two suspects as Vietnamese officials who were in New Zealand on official business.”
“Before police have established the identities of the suspects, they have already left New Zealand. As we do not have an extradition treaty with Vietnam, we were unable to commence extradition proceedings and therefore no prosecution was initiated and no charges were laid.”
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) sent a note to the Vietnamese ambassador, outlining the developments and “expressing New Zealand Police’s deep concern about this conduct.”
MFAT confirmed that the Vietnamese officials (2 suspects) of the preparation team were not entitled to diplomatic immunity as this only applies to accredited diplomats in New Zealand.
Stuff put a series of questions to the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand on December11, but received no response.
Ms Cook said the incident had left her deeply distressed and she had suffered “a lifetime of trauma, grief and helplessness.”
