Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced an employee of a recruitment firm to seven years in Prey Sar prison for her part in the trafficking of six Cambodian maids to Malaysia in 2015.

The accused, Tran Sok Channy, 27, sat in the court’s holding cell weeping after the sentence was delivered by judge Ly Lip Meng.

Sok Channy had been employed by recruitment firm HRD, the owner of which, Heng Samnang, is still at large.

During her trial, Channy claimed Samnang paid her $300 a month to rent temporary accommodation in Phnom Penh for prospective maids, as well as cooking for them and accompanying them to apply for passports.

The court also ordered Sok Channy to pay the four complainants (two of the six chose to seek employment in Thailand rather than stay in Cambodia to file a complaint) 2 million riel, about $500, each.

Only one friend, who asked not to be named, attended Sok Channy’s sentencing hearing. He described her as a poor divorcee deserving of sympathy.

“There is no justice for her. She was just a staff member, when customers came, she prepared their accommodation and cooked their meals,” he said.

“Her relatives are too poor to be able to get here. I just have pity for her. I came to visit and bring some food for her.”

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to comment on the case.