Cambodian police arrest 24 women in illegal surrogacy ring

By AJP Posted : October 14, 2024, 12:12 Updated : October 14, 2024, 12:12
This photo shows Cambodian surrogates uncovered in 2016. EPA-Yonhap
SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - Cambodian authorities have arrested 24 women in an illegal surrogacy operation, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. 

The group found near Phnom Penh includes 20 Filipinas and four Vietnamese women.

Thirteen of the Filipino women, who are pregnant, face charges of violating anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation laws. They could be sentenced to up to five years in prison after giving birth.

Officials believe that a Thailand-based company ran the operation, recruiting surrogates online and housing them in Cambodia.

Authorities view the pregnant women as complicit rather than victims, alleging that they collaborated to sell babies for profit. The non-pregnant women will be deported.

Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy for foreigners in 2016, but underground markets persist.

In 2017, an Australian nurse was jailed for arranging surrogacies for foreign couples, and a 2018 case involved dozens of surrogates for Chinese clients.

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