Taipei: The Changhua District Prosecutors Office recently indicted a Vietnamese-born naturalized Taiwanese woman and seven others for allegedly exploiting workers from Vietnam, including minors, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said Monday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the NIA's Taichung City Specialized Operation Brigade reported that the woman, surnamed Nguyn, claimed to be "the reincarnation of a living Buddha." She allegedly lured Vietnamese followers into bringing their underage children to Taiwan under the guise of religious practice, subjecting them to prolonged labor exploitation.

In February, several Vietnamese fathers traveled to Taiwan to report that their wives, influenced by religious beliefs, had left home and taken their underage children to Taiwan. Based on these reports, the NIA formed a special task force while the Changhua District Prosecutors Office was asked to direct the investigation.

The task force discovered that Nguyn, who married a Taiwanese national over two decades ago, promoted her teachings online and encouraged followers to bring their children to Taiwan on tourist visas for "spiritual practice." She convinced followers that working for her could help them accumulate good karma and attain salvation when the apocalypse came.

Believers, who sold their property and left their families to come to Taiwan, were made to work without pay at farms and restaurants arranged by Nguyn. Their passports were confiscated, and their communications and freedom of movement were restricted. The minors were forced to start work early in the morning, deprived of schooling, leisure activities, and a normal environment in which to develop.

To evade investigation, Nguyn, who runs a restaurant in Changhua, and her accomplices relocated some of the Vietnamese mothers and children to Miaoli County and New Taipei, placing them under the supervision of other believers. Meanwhile, the followers believed they were engaging in religious and spiritual practices and that the money earned by Nguyn would be donated to charity.

Investigators also found that Nguyn had been permanently barred from entering Vietnam in July 2023 over alleged religious scams. She subsequently shifted her religious activities to Taiwan after obtaining permanent residency there. After months of investigation, the special task force raided locations where the victims were being held. Four minors who had been exploited were rescued and have since safely returned to their families in Vietnam, the NIA said.

Following the investigation, the Changhua District Prosecutors' Office indicted Nguyn, four accomplices-all Vietnamese-born naturalized Taiwanese women-and three Vietnamese mothers on charges of labor exploitation under the Human Trafficking Prevention Act and abducting minors.