The owner of a massage parlour, which doubled as a brothel, was sentenced to seven years in prison and two of his employees were sentenced to six years in prison yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Presiding judge for the court Chaing Sinath identified 29-year-old Gov Vouch Leang as the owner of Rambo Massage Club, 24-year-old Khuon Rambo as the manager and 23-year-old Sek Thearum as the accountant.

“Based on the hearings and evidence, the court has found the suspects guilty. They have the right to appeal the verdict to the Court of Appeals within 30 days of this announcement,” the judge said.

An officer for the antihuman trafficking and juvenile police said the trio was arrested on February 26 at the massage parlour in the Prampi Makara district.

He said reports and an investigation showed the massage parlour catered to gay men.

“They had illegally provided sexual services for their clients for many months,” the officer said, adding police had detained 19 people during the raid and confiscated sex toys, DVDs and a computer.