13 Filipino women in Cambodia sentenced to surrogacy

13 Filipino women in Cambodia sentenced to surrogacy

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Thirteen women from the Philippines were convicted of human trafficking because they were working in Cambodia as a surrogate maker for a network that sold babies against money to foreigners

judgment and punishment

The women each received a punishment of four years in prison after they found it guilty by the court in Kandal to sell, buy or exchange a person for the cross -border transfer. In addition, two of the four years in prison were suspended, which means that they only have to serve this punishment if they become delinquent again.

unusual circumstances

The women are currently in a police hospital outside of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The authorities had previously announced that they would only have to compete their prison sentence after the birth of their children. According to the court spokesman Sarin, women have the right to appeal against the judgment. However, he refused to provide information about the current state of health of the pregnant women and what would happen to the babies after birth.

surrogacy in Cambodia

developing countries are often popular destinations for surrogacy. Compared to the USA or Australia, where the costs for surrogacy can be around $ 150,000, the prices in Cambodia are much more affordable. However, the current case is special, since surrogate mothers are normally used in their own countries and are not brought abroad.

background of the arrest

The authorities reported that the company that recruited the women was based in Thailand and that their meals and accommodation in Cambodia were also organized there. The women were arrested in a raid in a villa in the province of Kandal at the end of September, where the investigators discovered 20 Filipinos and four Vietnamese.

legal situation and consequences

At the time of the indictment in October, the Cambodian Ministry of the Interior said that the masterminds had not yet been identified. However, women were attributed to the women that they had conspired with the organizers to act as a surrogate maker and then sell the babies against money. Eleven of the non -pregnant women were deported. The 13 Filipinas were charged according to a law to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

negative reputation Cambodia

Cambodia has a bad call regarding human trafficking, especially in connection with online frauds in which foreigners are recruited for jobs under false preliminary facilities and kept in conditions of virtual slavery.

boom of surrogacy

The surrogacy increased in Cambodia after being subject to strict regulations in neighboring countries such as Thailand, India and Nepal. In 2017, an Australian woman together with two Cambodian accomplices was sentenced to one and a half years in prison because she had provided commercial surrogacy services.