Two Vietnamese police officers sexually assaulted young women while visiting New Zealand, authorities say

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Police say New Zealand authorities have “no doubt” that two Vietnamese officials sexually assaulted two young waitresses at a restaurant during a visit to the country, but failed to respond after their return to Vietnam. Charges could not be brought against them before Thursday, he said.

Vietnam and New Zealand do not have an extradition treaty, so the alleged attackers cannot be forced to face charges.

One of the women said they were attacked in a restaurant in Wellington in March, days before Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters on Thursday that the charged men had “police links” in Vietnam and had met with officials at a police training college near Wellington.

The woman, Alison Cook, told The Associated Press that she and another waitress at the Vietnamese restaurant where they worked were attacked by two men who pulled the waiter onto his lap in a private karaoke room , pressing them against the wall and petting them. She said she was forced to drink alcohol and believed she was drugged.

Cook, who was 19 at the time, said she was injured in the attack. The women reported the assault to authorities the next day.

The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they were sexually abused, but Cook said she preferred to have her name published.

Detective Inspector John Van Den Heuvel said in a statement: “Police have no doubt that the women were molested by two men at work and we would have laid criminal charges if the men were still in New Zealand.”

Indecency is a New Zealand legal term that covers unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature. The maximum penalty is seven years in prison.

By the time police identified the two men, they were no longer in the country, Vanden Heuvel said. They would not be protected by diplomatic immunity, which only applies to senior diplomats.

Van den Heuvel said New Zealand authorities had exhausted all possible avenues of investigation. He added that police sent a letter to Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Van Trong through the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs “outlining what happened and expressing New Zealand Police’s deep concern about the behavior of these men”.

Cook urged New Zealand authorities to ask the Vietnamese government to repatriate the men to face prosecution.

“If they choose to drop the case now, it will set a devastating precedent that it’s okay to commit sex crimes in New Zealand as long as you can leave,” she said.

Vietnam’s embassy in Wellington did not immediately respond to a request for comment and no one was present when The Associated Press visited on Thursday.

The restaurant where the women worked did not immediately respond to a request for comment.