NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Not for Sale: Young bride sold to elderly Chinese man

By Kerre McIvor
NZ Herald·
4 Oct, 2018 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Life for Yadanar was tough. Her mother had a mobile vegetable stall that barely brought in enough money to pay for the rent or the food for the family. So when Yadanar’s mother told her that she could get the two of them a job in a shoe making factory in China, Yadanar jumped at the chance.
Not for sale

Millions of girls across Asia are being sold into prostitution, forced into child labour, and married against their will. Over two weeks the Herald and World Vision will tell their stories so you can make a difference.

Life for Yadanar was tough. It always had been, and chances were, it always would be.

Her father had tuberculosis and couldn't work; her mother had a mobile vegetable stall that barely brought in enough money to pay for the rent or the food for the family.

So when Yadanar's mother told her that she had met someone who could get the two of them a job in a shoe making factory in China, making more money than they could ever dream of in Yangon, Yadanar jumped at the chance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The extra money would help keep her three younger sisters in school. It would pay for her father's medical treatment. She would be with her mother when she took the leap to migrate to a new country and a new job – all the auspices pointed to Yadanar taking the job.

Yadanar tried to escape the Chinese family that bought her and was caught and beaten. Photo / Mike Scott
Yadanar tried to escape the Chinese family that bought her and was caught and beaten. Photo / Mike Scott

But 17-year-old Yadanar was betrayed in the worst possible way.

When she and her mother arrived in China and met the broker who'd promised them the factory jobs, Yadanar's mother left her with the broker and Yadanar has never seen her since.

She cries whenever she talks about her mother and although she can't put it into words, she knows that, at best, her mother abandoned her and in the worst case scenario, her mother sold her.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The broker told Yadanar that her mother had taken the money and run but Yadanar is trying to believe that there was a misunderstanding or that her mother went to get help and fell victim to some misfortune.

Anything other than believe her mother would sell her to the highest bidder.

The one child policy in China has driven a great deal of the human trafficking in Myanmar – and in other countries in Asia.

The preference of Chinese couples to have boy children has meant that there is a desperate shortage of women for young men to marry – particularly men who live in rural areas - and so they have to look elsewhere.

Many Chinese families think nothing of paying a broker a couple of thousand dollars to get a fit young woman to marry their son and give them grandchildren and it's of no concern to them where that woman comes from and whether she has been duped into the marriage.

Discover more

New Zealand

Watch in VR: Child bride tale: 'This one got to me'

27 Sep 10:00 PM
Opinion

Kerre McIvor: Their stories broke my heart

29 Sep 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Latika's story: 'You can't have sex with my daughter'

01 Oct 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Hnin's horror: A real-life story of slavery and abuse

03 Oct 12:00 AM

Yadanar, alone and terrified, was taken to the home of an elderly Chinese man.

The septuagenarian made no sexual demands on her; he was looking for a housekeeper. However, his son sexually assaulted Yadanar and so she ran away and tried to seek help from the local police.

It appears that many local police officers are in cahoots with the traffickers and so as Yadanar was trying to explain how she had come to be in China, the broker turned up at the station, paid a sum of money and took Yadanar back to the old man and his son.

The old man decided Yadanar was more trouble than she was worth and told the broker to get rid of her and to give him his money back.

The broker beat Yadanar for the trouble she had caused him and then, once the bruises had faded, he sold her to a family with a mentally disabled son who was looking for a wife. Yadanar begged the family to take her on as a maid.

She said she didn't want to be a wife and she didn't want to live in China but her pleas and tears were in vain. The parents of the man beat her and turned her over to her new husband.

Yadanar tried to escape on a number of occasions but she was caught each time and severely beaten. That didn't stop her trying, though.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

After her failed attempts at running away, she opted for a different strategy and pretended that she was resigned to her fate. She tried to be a good wife and a good daughter-in-law, and eventually the family relaxed their vigilance enough to let her go outside of the family compound and spend some time around the village.

It was there that Yadanar met a woman who sympathised with her plight and took her to the police station to try to find someone there who would help her.

It was touch and go. The broker turned up when he found out she had escaped once again and the parents of the Chinese boy also tried to bribe the police to give Yadanar back to them. However, this time, Yadanar had found an honest cop and after a few months in a detention centre, while her story and her identity were investigated, Yadanar and another woman from Myanmar were sent back to their homes.

Yadanar lives with her grandparents now and her father and sisters live with them too.

There has been no word from her mother and Yadanar doubts whether she'll ever see her again.

World Vision has given her a small grant to set up a grocery stall but she's struggling to make a living.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She desperately wants to keep her little sisters in school and she's worried about how she'll pay for her father's medications.

But for all that, she isn't complaining. She's glad to be home. She knows that life could be a whole lot worse.

Watch the VR film in 360 view

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

07 Jul 06:31 AM
New Zealand

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

07 Jul 06:25 AM
New Zealand

Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

07 Jul 06:22 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

Hutt Valley baby suffers nine fractures, police seek information

07 Jul 06:31 AM

Police: 'We do not believe the injuries could have been sustained accidentally.'

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

Pedestrian seriously injured after collision with car in East Auckland

07 Jul 06:25 AM
Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

Have you seen Ella? Police search for missing 16-year-old

07 Jul 06:22 AM
Jury finds mushroom cook guilty of murders and Covid inquiry continues  | NZ Herald Afternoon Update

Jury finds mushroom cook guilty of murders and Covid inquiry continues | NZ Herald Afternoon Update

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP