BATTAMBANG provincial police have arrested 10 sex workers and a 46-year-old woman during a raid on an illegal establishment concealed within a karaoke parlour in Phnom Proek district, officials said yesterday.

Kuy Heang, director of the provincial Anti-human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau, said the raid on the establishment, located about a kilometre from the Thai border, took place on Tuesday evening.

He said the 10 sex workers, aged between 20 and 32, were sent to the provincial Department of Social Affairs. The  woman was sent to court yesterday. “There are no brothels in Battambang now,” he said.

Uy Samphea, deputy prosecutor at the provincial court, said the court had not yet decided whether to charge the woman with procurement of prostitution, or aggravated procurement of prostitution.

A conviction on procurement of prostitution charges would result in a sentence of two to five years in prison, while aggravated procurement carries a maximum punishment of 10 years, he said.

District governor Suon Koeurn said charges for sexual services in the area ranged from 200 Thai baht (about US$6.50) to around 400 baht ($13).

“The prices of sexual intercourse rank from 200 baht to 400 baht based on the period of time and the beauty of the sex workers,” he said, adding that he doubted that the 10 women picked up in the raid had been forced into sex work.

“I think they themselves need extra money to live on from their sexual intercourse,” he said.