[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] A Thai woman who took her 12-year-old biological daughter to Japan and forced her into prostitution has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison on human trafficking charges.
According to local media outlets, including Channel 7, the Thai Criminal Court on the 29th sentenced the 29-year-old woman, identified as Rak, to seven years and six months in prison on charges of human trafficking and brokering prostitution.
The case came to light last November after the victim girl reported it directly to Japanese police.
The girl testified, "My mother left me at a massage parlor in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, and forced me to engage in prostitution."
Investigators found that the mother and daughter entered Japan in June last year under the visa-free entry program and then went to a massage parlor in Tokyo.
A month later, in July last year, Rak left Japan after saying, "I will come back soon," but she never returned.
It was confirmed that the daughter, left alone, was forced to have sex with more than 60 men over 33 days.
The massage parlor reportedly remitted 123,000 baht, or about 5.7 million won, to the girl's mother after taking its share.
Investigators also found that the victim lived in poor conditions at the time.
She had to sleep on the kitchen floor of the establishment without a room, and she was given only minimal meals.
After the case became known, investigative authorities in Japan and Thailand carried out a joint probe.
Japanese police arrested the 51-year-old owner of the massage parlor on charges including child labor violations, while the fugitive biological mother was later arrested in Taiwan and repatriated to Thailand.
Based on the evidence submitted, the Thai court found her guilty of both human trafficking and brokering prostitution.
However, considering that she had no prior criminal record and confessed to all of the charges, the court reduced the original 15-year sentence by half and handed down a prison term of seven years and six months.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
