Vietnamese officials accused of Wellington sexual assault can't be extradited

• Police are certain two Vietnamese officials indecently assaulted a pair of Wellington waitresses, but cannot charge them
• Police identified the suspects, but they had left the country, and no extradition treaty exists
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has conveyed concerns to the Vietnamese ambassador

Two Vietnamese officials accused of indecently assaulting two young waitresses in Wellington cannot be charged despite the fact police have “no doubt” the crimes occurred.

Police received two complaints in March that a pair of women were indecently assaulted at work, and officers began investigating, district criminal investigations manager Detective Inspector John Van Den Heuvel said.

Police reviewed CCTV footage and spoke to witnesses, he said.

“Police established who our suspects were and that they were Vietnamese officials, visiting on official business. Enquiries were then made with the Vietnamese Embassy who made every effort to assist police with our investigation.”

By the time police identified the suspects, they had already left New Zealand.

“As we have no extradition treaty with Vietnam, we were unable to commence extradition proceedings, and as such no charges were laid.”

Police then wrote a letter to be sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to the Vietnamese ambassador, explaining what had happened and “expressing New Zealand Police’s deep concern over this behaviour”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade shared those concerns and this was conveyed to the ambassador.”

MFAT confirmed the Vietnamese officials were not entitled to diplomatic immunity, as this only applies to diplomatic staff accredited to New Zealand.

“Police have no doubt these two women were indecently assaulted by two men while working and had these men still been in New Zealand we would have pursued criminal charges,” Van Den Heuvel said.

Police carried out a “thorough investigation” and updated the victims regularly, as well as offering them Victim Support.

“While we know this is not the outcome they would have hoped for, police have exhausted all plausible investigative avenues.”