Seven years away: Two accused of pimping are convicted

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Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced two women to seven years in prison for procuring a 14-year-old girl to have sex with wealthy men in exchange for a commission on the transaction.

Presiding judge Meng Tony said Vietnamese national Kao Thiheang, also known as Srey Keo, 42, and Cambodian Chan Bopha, 38, were guilty of “procurement with regard to child prostitution”. They were arrested in May 2014.

Second Lieutenant Police Sok Hong, a police officer at the Phnom Penh Municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit, said the defendants charged clients between $50 and $100, and took commissions of $20 to $50.

“They were arrested while they were bringing a girl, aged 14, to have sex with an old man at the Lucky Star Hotel,” he said.

The girl, he added, was sent to a rehabilitation centre before being returned to her family.

Thiheang yesterday promised to appeal the decision.

“I think that the court’s decision was unjust for me because the victim volunteered to sleep with that guest by herself, and she asked me to bring her to meet with him,” she said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/seven-years-away-two-accused-pimping-are-convicted