A 26-year-old woman accused of trafficking 24 Cambodian women to work as maids in Malaysia was arrested in Phnom Penh on Thursday, according to National Police.
Oum Radin tricked 16 women from Kompong Cham province, six from Kompong Thom province, and two from Kompong Chhnang province into traveling to Malaysia with the promise of a salary of $300 to $400 a month, the statement posted to the department’s Facebook page said.
“By believing in the deceitful promotion, all the victims agreed to go and the offender prepared documents and passports, bringing them to Malaysia since 2014,” the post said.
Once in Malaysia, a broker gave Ms. Radin around $1,500 each for the women and they were forced to work 18-hour days, seven days a week, it said.
Eventually, the group was rescued and the victims were returned home, it added.
Ms. Radin, of Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district, was sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday morning for questioning.
Court spokesmen could not be reached for comment.
A separate statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry documented the return of three more trafficked maids from Malaysia and 23 men who had been caught working illegally at a construction site in Laos.
