A Cambodian man has been charged with illegal human trafficking by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after four alleged brokers were found with eight women in a Por Sen Chey guesthouse last week.

The other suspects – one Chinese national and two Cambodians – have been released due to lack of evidence against them, deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpiseth said yesterday.

One 16-year-old minor was among the women who were allegedly being sent to China as brides, Keo Thea, director of the Phnom Penh Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection office, said yesterday.

Though the women wanted to go abroad to marry, they faced serious risks of being trafficked into forced labour, he said.