The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday sentenced a massage parlour owner accused of offering sexual services at his establishment in the capital’s Sen Sok district, Tuol Tompoung II commune, to five years in prison.

Judge Kim Rathnarin said that Lim Savouen, 35, the boss of the 368 Massage Shop, was charged with “procurement of prostitution” under Article 284 of the Penal Code. He was arrested on April 6.

“He has the right to appeal the verdict within 30 days,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Keo Thea, the chief of the municipal police’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit, said the accused was arrested when police raided his massage parlour and found his female employees engaging in sexual intercourse with clients last April.

“He allowed masseuses who worked in his shop to have sex with their clients in exchange for getting commission from them,” he said.

“The girls had sex with clients for anywhere from $20 to $30 per time. But he would take money from them as commission, from 10,000 riel [about $2.50] to 20,000 riel [about $5] for one client.”