Men charged for trafficking 13 Vietnamese women into Malaysian brothels

• Malaysia rescues 26 Vietnamese women from alleged human trafficking ring
• Vietnamese jailed for trafficking women to China

Three men from Malaysia and another from Myanmar have been charged with trafficking 13 Vietnamese women for sexual exploitation in Malaysian brothels.

Two of the Malaysian men who manned the counter at a massage center were charged with trafficking seven Vietnamese women and an Indonesian woman into Malaysia for sexual exploitation on November 26.

In another case, another Malaysian man from a reflexology center and his colleague from Myanmar were charged with trafficking six women aged between 18 and 36 years old on November 4.

All four pleaded not guilty in court on Friday.

The judge set bail at RM20,000 ($4,500) for each of them and a January trial date.

If convicted, each could receive up to 15 years in jail and a fine under Malaysia’s penal code.

Around 3,800 Vietnamese citizens were victims of human trafficking between 2011 and 2015, with women accounting for 85 percent of the figure, according to figures from the Ministry of Public Security. China, Malaysia and Singapore were the main destinations.

Related news:

>Malaysia rescues 26 Vietnamese women from alleged human trafficking ring

>Vietnamese jailed for trafficking women to China