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Thirteen Girls Freed from Brothel in Cambodia

With a request of Protection of Juvenile Justice (PJJ) for intervention from the Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection (DAHTJP), a raid was done in Ponleu Thmey brothel in Koh Kong on 1 June 2005, freeing 13 girls who had been forced into prostitution. Present at the scene were Koh Kong prosecutor, vice Koh Kong police commissioner chief and his associates, DAHTJP police officers and PJJ senior investigator. Apart from saving the girls, an 18-year-old daughter of the brothel owner was taken to the police office for questioning, but later reportedly released by the provincial police on the ground that she was not involved in the business.

This raid resulted from a complaint of a 17-year-old girl PJJ rescued from the afore-mentioned brothel in late March 2005. PJJ is not totally satisfied with this achievement because the brothel owner and her accomplices were not caught and brought to justice. PJJ is going to push the arrest of those individuals. This operation coincided with the celebration of International Children’s Day, enabling these 13 girls to enjoy their day and start their new life in the society.

The cooperation and intervention of the operation team reflected what the participants promised in PJJ legal training in early March 2005 in Koh Kong and their willingness to combat child sexual exploitation and trafficking in Cambodia.