Two women with ties to Kampong Cham authorities were sent to the provincial court yesterday after allegedly acting as marriage brokers and illegally sending Cambodian women to China.

Tol Sokunthear, 34, the sister of Kampong Cham’s provincial tourism department deputy director, and Lay Savorn, 44, the wife of a provincial statistics official, were arrested on Tuesday, provincial anti-human trafficking official Eam Vanny said.

Police made the arrests in Kampong Siem district, where both suspects reside, following complaints made by five victims to China’s Cambodian Embassy. The embassy then forwarded the grievances to the Ministry of Interior.

“Based on the complaint, the suspects persuaded five Cambodian women to get married in China and the victims are in China right now,’’ Vanny said. “In this case, they are involved in human trafficking.”

Provincial authorities looked into the accounts of the victims and determined they had not married the men before leaving for China.

Vanny added that he was unable to confirm the total number of women Sokunthear and Savorn allegedly sent to China.