Garment worker to serve the 7-year jail for human trafficking

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court yesterday upheld the seven-year jail sentence of a 37-year old garment worker who was found guilty by a lower court for the trafficking of 15 Cambodian women under the pretext of marrying Chinese men in China but instead sold as sex slaves between 2017 and 2018.

Presiding Judge Kim Dany ordered the accused Soum Sokunthear who resides in Dangkor district’s Dangkor commune to serve the sentence imposed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. “After hearing Sokunthear’s confession on August 27, the Court finds her guilty as charged and upholds the seven-year jail sentence imposed by the lower court on October 20, last year,” she said.

According to Article 11 of Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, the jail term is between seven to 15 years, she said, adding that the Phnom Penh Municipal Court has given only seven years in prison. “Therefore, Phnom Penh Court of Appeal has decided to uphold the decision of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court,” said Judge Dany. Sokunthear was also ordered to pay 20 million Riels ($5,000) to the 15 victims each as compensation.

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