KUALA LUMPUR: A Chinese daily’s report on the alleged auction of a Vietnamese woman at a market in Rawang, which created an international stir, appears to be false.
Police have ascertained that the report was based on hearsay and two sources quoted in the report yesterday denied that they had spoken to the reporter.
Selangor CID chief Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah said police, accompanied by the reporter from the daily, spoke to two of the four sources at the market yesterday.
"There was no auction. They cannot remember speaking to the reporter," Hadi said yesterday.
"There is no indication of an auction having taken place, nor can we be certain if the woman in question was a Vietnamese."
Investigations revealed that a pedlar of kitchen utensils had brought along a woman when he opened his stall at the market on May 2.
The pedlar, according to witnesses, operates a stall there once a month.
They said he came with a "beautiful" woman who was overheard conversing with him in Mandarin. She helped him set up his stall and sat at a table nearby.
Several regulars at the coffee shop allegedly asked the pedlar about the woman and he gave them vague answers, which started rumours of "an auction of a Vietnamese woman".
Four hours later, the pedlar and the woman left together in his van.
Several people questioned yesterday said they saw the woman seated at the table, and later heard rumours that she had been auctioned off.
"We are looking for the pedlar and the woman to clear up this issue," Hadi said.
Yesterday about 7.30am, a police team from Gombak led by Chief Insp Mohd Fazley Abdul Rahman took the reporter to the market in Kampung Sungai Terentang, Rawang.
The reporter led police to a coffee shop where they met two of the sources – a cake seller and a noodle stall operator.
Both denied having spoken to the reporter but said they saw the woman and explained how she came to the shop with the pedlar.
They denied there was ever an auction.
However, they said, several hours after the couple left, others came enquiring about an auction.
Several people questioned yesterday claimed they only knew of the alleged incident after reading the newspaper report.
The probe at the market was sparked off by a flurry of foreign media reports alleging that a Vietnamese woman was auctioned off for RM18,000 at the market.
The reports further said that a 60-year-old local man took the woman home after paying the amount.
The reports were based on an initial report by a Chinese daily on May 3.
On Thursday, police contacted the reporter, who is based in Petaling Jaya, and ascertained that his report was based on hearsay.
The reporter came to know about the alleged auction on May 2. The next day, he went to the market and got the story from sources.
An earlier report stated that police might take action against the newspaper if the report was found to be false.
Hadi, however, declined to comment. He said that their priority was to get to the bottom of the story.
