A 29-year-old man was charged in Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court over prostitution charges on Wednesday, after police raided a brothel operating inside a coffee shop in Poipet town.

Loeu Chandara, deputy director of the provincial Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office, said Chhom Rattana, 29, the owner of the coffee shop, was charged under prostitution laws after a

complaint was filed by three employees and police raided the business that allegedly screened pornographic films and provided sexual services.

He added that the raid was conducted with the assistance of Provincial Court Prosecutor Long Cheab and that the suspect’s wife had not been sent to court to face charges yet because she had recently given birth.

“It is good that we managed to crack down on this business,” Loeu Chandara said yesterday, adding that the three women filed complaints after they were beaten by the brothel owner and five prostitutes were removed from the establishment and sent to the provincial department of social affairs to be educated.

If convicted, the suspect could face between five and 10 years in prison under human trafficking and sexual exploitation laws, said Ton Sihak Teches, deputy provincial court prosecutor.

“We charged him with the procurement of prostitution and detained him in provincial prison for further investigations.”