Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Raid on surrogacy agency nets five

Raid on surrogacy agency nets five

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A police raid discovered 33 women (pictured, faces covered) acting as surrogates in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district. fresh news

Raid on surrogacy agency nets five

Anti-human trafficking police in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district arrested five people on Thursday, including a Chinese national, and discovered 33 women who were paid to have children for Chinese clients, the unit’s chief said on Sunday.

Keo Thea, the Phnom Penh anti-trafficking police chief, said Chinese national Liu Qiang, 49, was the alleged mastermind of the surrogacy ring. Four Cambodian women – Svay Sinuch, 34; Noeun Sreylang, 27; Lim Sopheap, 19; and Thai Pheap, 43 – were also arrested for abetting him.

Thea said the accused are being held on human trafficking charges and for being intermediaries for surrogacy, which has been banned in the Kingdom since 2016 as it mulls a draft bill.

According to the latest draft bill, the proposed law is expected to ban the commercial industry but permit altruistic surrogacy. Most commercial surrogacy came to the Kingdom after the practice was banned elsewhere in the region, particularly Thailand.

In August 2017, Australian nurse Tammy Davis-Charles was sentenced to 18 months jail for her role as the founder of a surrogacy agency.

On the latest raid, Thea said the agency had been running for a year, and, thus far, 20 babies have been taken out of the country.

“Those five carried out all the services of a surrogacy program, like bringing the women to be inseminated and tending to the women’s needs. They face seven to 15 years in prison,” he said.

Thea said that the 33 women found on the premises were in various stages of pregnancy and that they were offered up to $10,000 each.

“Some of the women were just one month pregnant and others, eight months. They keep the women in two houses and they lived together under the management’s watchful eyes. They were forced to stay inside the house but were allowed to call their relatives.

“But some of the women did not want their relatives to know what they were doing. The women included garment workers and others that were unemployed. In most cases, they are poor and needed the money.

“We sent the women to the Social Affairs Department in Phnom Penh. The intended parents are mostly Chinese,” Thea said, calling on Cambodians to report suspected surrogacy operations.

Mom Chandany, director of the Phnom Penh Department of Social Affairs, said as soon as the 33 women were handed over to her department, they were sent to partner NGOs.

“We sent them to some partner NGOs immediately because there were a lot of women to take care of. They could get support services from the NGOs . . . Now we need to think about the emotional requirements and safety of the women,” she said.

Chou Bun Eng, the permanent vice chair of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, said the 33 women may have to face charges as well.

“The only victims are the unborn babies. As for the women, they took a fee. If it is discovered they were involved in trafficking babies, they too will be charged,” she said.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument