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Ms. Kun Thea sentenced to 50 years according to Thai Criminal Code

The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (UNIAP) announces a groundbreaking decision by the Thai Criminal Court in a sex trafficking case. Ms. Khunthea, a Cambodian national, was sentenced to 85 years in prison for procuring under-aged women for prostitution. According to Thai Criminal Procedure, article 91(3), Khunthea will only serve a 50-year jail term

This successful prosecution is the first time that Cambodia and Thailand have worked together to prosecute a trafficker. The case involved movement across three countries, and required officials and non-governmental agencies to join forces.

The prosecution rested on the testimony of eight Cambodian women, who left their home village in Cambodia believing they would be offered work as noodle and clothes sellers in Bangkok. Instead, they were held in Samut Prakan before being sold into a Malaysian brothel by Ms. Khunthea. Malaysian authorities later detained them as illegal migrants. A long process of escape, re-victimization, and rescue culminated in their appearance in court to testify against Ms. Khunthea in Bangkok.

Thailand and Cambodia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Trafficking in May 2003, and this case represents a stunning success in its implementation. The case required the authority and expertise of the Royal Thai Police, the Cambodian Minister, the Attorney General's Office, Cambodian and Thai NGOs, staff from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and Ban Kredtrakarn (a protection and development center), as well as the victims.

The UNIAP Thai National Project Coordinator, Khun Panadda Changmanee, who also speaks fluent Cambodian, and our previous NPC in Cambodia, Mr. Hang Vannak put in a huge effort to assist in the court case and in supporting the victims throughout the trial.

A press conference was held on Friday, 11 March 2005 at the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speakers included representatives from the Royal Thai Police, the Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Office of Attorney General and the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Region.

Please see attached press release and article from the last UNIAP newsletter below.

For more information, contact:

Ms. Pannada Changmannee
National Project Coordinator
UNIAP Thailand Office
Tel: 66-2-288-2603

Available Downloads

Press Release

Article from the last UNIAP newsletter