Women 'held as slaves for 30 years' in London

[webfact]

Women 'held as slaves for 30 years'

LONDON: -- Three women have been "rescued" from a south London house as police investigate claims they were held as slaves for about 30 years.

Police arrested a 67-year-old man and woman in Lambeth at 07:30 GMT.

Last month officers were contacted by Freedom Charity after it received a call from a woman saying she had been held against her will for decades.

A Malaysian woman, 69, an Irish woman, 57, and a British woman, 30, were rescued from the house on 25 October.

Delayed arrest
The women, who are said to be "highly traumatised", are now in safe accommodation.

The 30-year-old had spent her whole life in captivity. Officers are trying to establish whether she was born in the house.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25040741


-- BBC 2013-11-22

[sirchai]

Unbelievable.-

Edited November 22, 2013 by sirchai

[coma]

Bring back capital punishment for these horrible individuals.

[hanno]

That makes it three big cases in the last couple of years (Austria, USA, and now the IK). Makes you wonder how many more people are being held captive out there?

[thaicbr]

Unbelievable.-

Certainly a lot doesn't seem to add up. They were held as slaves but could leave to meet the police!!!

I will await more news of this one.

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

[deecee10]

That makes it three big cases in the last couple of years (Austria, USA, and now the IK). Makes you wonder how many more people are being held captive out there?

Reckon it's the tip of the iceberg.

[NeverSure]

Unbelievable.-

Certainly a lot doesn't seem to add up. They were held as slaves but could leave to meet the police!!!

I will await more news of this one.

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

I'm certainly not a mental health expert, but when it was discovered in the US there was much expert talk about some kind of syndrome that occurs over time. I don't remember what it is but it was based on long term fear, submission, control, and other things. I guess they just gave up and accepted it, and were afraid to try to change it even when they occasionally were out in public.

I can't explain it properly but it happened. Now, why won't they put me in charge of meting out the punishment hahaha.

[Scott]

Stockholm Syndrome?

[sabaii69]

So, you can't escape London? I know two Brits who are here who escaped.

[Chicken George]

Just sounds like an old people's home.. If true a terrible tragedy..

[webfact]

UK police rescue 3 women allegedly held as house slaves for 30 years

LONDON, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Three women allegedly held as house slaves for up to 30 years at a London residence were rescued last month after one of them called a British charity, officials revealed on Thursday, saying the women were "highly traumatized." Two people have been arrested.

The case came to light on October 18 when a 57-year-old Irish woman called Freedom Charity and stated that she and two others had been held against their will at a house in London for more than 30 years. She explained she had found the courage to contact the helpline after seeing a documentary about forced marriages on the BBC.

The charity immediately contacted police, but detectives first needed to carry out further investigations as little information had been given in relation to the whereabouts of the women. With the help of Freedom Charity, police were able to arrange to meet with them at an agreed location on October 25.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), which is better known as Scotland Yard, said the Irish woman and a 30-year-old British woman met with charity workers and police officers on that day. They identified the location where they had been held and police were able to rescue the third victim, a 69-year-old Malaysian woman.

"All three were taken to a place of safety that same day, they are all highly traumatized and remain in the care of professionals," the spokesman said. Police said a man and a woman were arrested at the house on Thursday after officers had established the facts and were satisfied the victims were aware of police intentions.

"This is the very early stages of a complicated and sensitive investigation," said Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland. "These women are highly traumatized, having been held in servitude for at least 30 years with no real exposure to the outside world, and, trying to find out exactly what has happened over three decades will understandably take some time."

Hyland said the Met's Human Trafficking Unit deals with many cases every year but had never unearthed "such a staggering example" of people held against their will. "What is important now is that our investigation continues, that we achieve the best possible evidence and aim to bring those responsible to justice," he explained.

The two suspects, who are both 67 years old and are not British nationals, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in forced labor and domestic servitude, contrary to Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. They were released on bail on early Friday and ordered to return in January as the investigation continues.

The victims, who are not related to each other, appear to have had "limited freedom" during their captivity and there is no evidence the women were sexually assaulted, police said. "We will continue to speak to the victims to ascertain what this ascertained," a Scotland Yard spokesman said, giving no other details about the circumstances.

It was also not immediately clear if the youngest victim was born inside the house, which is located in the London Borough of Lambeth. "We are not sure where she was born but she appears to have been in servitude for her entire life," the spokesman said. "We continue to work closely with the victims to gather further information."

Aneeta Prem, a spokesperson for Freedom Charity, said the organization takes each call seriously. "Freedom Charity, hearing about the situation of the women, took immediate action in planning their safe rescue," Prem said. "Facilitating their escape was achieved using utmost sensitivity and secrecy and with the safety of the women as our primary concern."

(Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)

-- BNO News 2013-11-22

[rotary]

Unbelievable.-

Yes, sounds a bit strange does it not.

[Suradit69]

Unbelievable.-

Certainly a lot doesn't seem to add up. They were held as slaves but could leave to meet the police!!!

I will await more news of this one.

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

"I will await more news of this one."

Had this happened in Thailand there'd be no awaiting. People would be waxing philosophic about Thai culture and what was wrong with the neighbors and corrupt police ... but of course when this sort of the thing happens in farangville, we have to be very, very convinced.

And if it happened in Thailand, many of the posts would have carried on about "This sort of thing would never happen in ______ (fill in the blank with any country in which the native population is made up of the chosen people)," "TIT," and other sentiments that bring into question the poster's understanding of the real world outside his bubble-of-denial.

I guess nasty things happen at the hands of nasty people everywhere and although it may be the hub of farang-denial, it isn't any worse than the countries from which farang residents have escaped.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Suradit69

[lungbing]

What I find puzzling is that the detainees didn't ring the police, but rang an obscure charity so the boss of which gets her name and photograph in the paper. Surely the police would be your first call?

[Chicog]

"Not British Nationals". Well well well.

[MJP]

Unbelievable.-

Certainly a lot doesn't seem to add up. They were held as slaves but could leave to meet the police!!!

I will await more news of this one.

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

"I will await more news of this one."

Had this happened in Thailand there'd be no awaiting. People would be waxing philosophic about Thai culture and what was wrong with the neighbors and corrupt police ... but of course when this sort of the thing happens in farangville, we have to be very, very convinced.

And if it happened in Thailand, many of the posts would have carried on about "This sort of thing would never happen in ______ (fill in the blank with any country in which the native population is made up of the chosen people)," "TIT," and other sentiments that bring into question the poster's understanding of the real world outside his bubble-of-denial.

I guess nasty things happen at the hands of nasty people everywhere and although it may be the hub of farang-denial, it isn't any worse than the countries from which farang residents have escaped.

Thailand does not have a good record on slavery.

http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/

[Scott]

A post with a quote only has been deleted.

[Bender]

Unbelievable.-

Certainly a lot doesn't seem to add up. They were held as slaves but could leave to meet the police!!!

I will await more news of this one.

Sent from my phone with the app thingy.

"I will await more news of this one."

Had this happened in Thailand there'd be no awaiting. People would be waxing philosophic about Thai culture and what was wrong with the neighbors and corrupt police ... but of course when this sort of the thing happens in farangville, we have to be very, very convinced.

And if it happened in Thailand, many of the posts would have carried on about "This sort of thing would never happen in ______ (fill in the blank with any country in which the native population is made up of the chosen people)," "TIT," and other sentiments that bring into question the poster's understanding of the real world outside his bubble-of-denial.

I guess nasty things happen at the hands of nasty people everywhere and although it may be the hub of farang-denial, it isn't any worse than the countries from which farang residents have escaped.

i remember pretty well this picture of this young thai girl naked who has held in chains in a remote area in issan.

Apparently, it was his dad who put her there. He was in need of money to buy yabba.

So his daughter have to sell her body for many years chained there...

Or also this another story of a brothel in phuket that burned down. And later they found young calcined prostitute chained to their bed...

Is there a link between these story and london one? NO

Is the london crime more/ less disgusting? Only an apologist can waste his/our time with this kind of question, mate you are sick...

[boomerangutang]

Another bizarre and sad story. People, with their large brains, are quite easily manipulated. If any proof is needed, just look at any orthodox religion or at N.Korea.

If there's a lesson in this story, it's anyone who is a parent (apparently) or has influence with children, should help them grasp the importance of freedom, and how it's worth fighting for, if need be. Freedom involves more than the level of confinement/restriction of one's space. Just as important, is freedom of thought. When observed in a larger context, most people who are employed, religious or married, have restrictions on their thought processes.