On the 13th of March, Phnom Penh police officers, supported by AIM SWAT, arrested a woman suspected of trafficking a 32-year-old woman to China for marriage in 2019. The investigation started after we helped bring the victim back home to Cambodia in September of last year. When she returned, she shared how she was tricked into going to China earlier in the year by a woman and on arrival was forced to marry a Chinese male, suffering regular physical and sexual abuse. She eventually managed to escape and was assisted by the Cambodian Embassy in coming home and is now living safely at home with her family.
After receiving a clue as to her whereabouts about two weeks prior, the suspect was arrested at a coffee shop in central Phnom Penh as the result of a covert operation conducted by police and SWAT. She has been charged with human trafficking-related offenses and will remain in prison to await trial, where our legal team will represent the victim.
Case Update:
In January of 2021, the trafficker was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison!