An officer of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and his wife were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly operating a prostitution ring from their guesthouse in Kampong Chhang province.

According to Colonel Prak Saony, provincial chief of the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection unit, Third Lieutenant Van Leang Hak, 43, and his wife, Lim Eng Chou, 45, are accused of illegally pimping women from their Kampong Tralach district guesthouse.

Police also seized condoms from the guesthouse, confirmed Saony, adding the accused had secretly opened the brothel many years ago.

“They are accused by provincial police of violating Article 32 outlawing human trafficking and sexual exploitation and will face two to five years in prison if found guilty,” Prak said.

Four women working as sex workers were also arrested in the raid, but were later released and are being temporarily housed with a local human rights organisation, a senior provincial police official said.