Two former Phnom Penh factory workers trafficked across the border to a Thai brothel escaped on Tuesday and were rescued by Cambodian border officials in Koh Kong province the same night, police said.

The women – Hong Channy, 19, and Lieng Dalin, 20 – were duped by a broker from the same Phnom Penh factory, who had promised them factory work in Thailand, said police official Hong Sothearith from the Cham Yeam border checkpoint in Koh Kong.

The pair were smuggled across the border on May 11 and forced to work in a brothel in Pathum Thani province’s Khlong Song district, Sothearith said.

“They wanted to work in the factory in Thailand but, when they arrived, they were sold to a brothel in Thailand,” Sothearith added. “They panicked and escaped to the border.”

According to Sothearith, the women escaped from the brothel in the early hours of the morning and found a Khmer-speaking motodop to take them to Koh Kong.

Police are now trying to locate the broker that trafficked the women, who are currently staying at the HCC – a health centre in Koh Kong that administers blood tests and health check-ups.

Kim Rany, rights group Adhoc’s provincial Women’s Project program officer, said that the women were in poor health.

“We will send them to a hospital to recover before we ask them about [the case].”