A court in southern Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has jailed four men for people smuggling, after they tried to reach Australia with a boat load of migrants.

Two of the men were handed sentences of up to three and a half years in prison, while the other pair received 18-month suspended sentences.

The group of ringleaders were among 21 people on the fishing boat that sailed to Australia in May this year, in search of higher paying jobs.

The remaining migrants did not receive charges.

After reaching Australian waters in June, the boat was detained by the Australian navy, with the group of migrants flown back to Ho Chi Minh City shortly after.

The recent case is the third time Vietnamese citizens who were returned by Australia have been put on trial.

– TiVi Tuan-san