Woman pleads guilty to human trafficking prostitutes from Thailand
· From:AAP
· July 29, 2010 2:51PM
A WOMAN trafficked women from Thailand to Australia to work as prostitutes, a Sydney court has been told.
The 48-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to illegally bringing 11 Thai women to Sydney between August 30, 2005 and April 1, 2008 for the purpose of sexual servitude.
She also pleaded guilty to immigration offences related to the charge.
The defendant, originally from Thailand, charged each woman a fee of $53,000 to come to Australia, Sydney District Court heard today.
She paid a Thai agent $20,000 to supply the women, who then paid off their total debt by working as prostitutes.
The court heard the defendant decided to set up the business after years of working as a prostitute in Sydney.
Speaking through an interpreter, she told a sentencing hearing all the women had been interviewed by phone before their arrival and had been made aware of the nature of the work.
She also pleaded guilty to immigration offences related to the charge.
The defendant, originally from Thailand, charged each woman a fee of $53,000 to come to Australia, Sydney District Court heard today.
She paid a Thai agent $20,000 to supply the women, who then paid off their total debt by working as prostitutes.
The court heard the defendant decided to set up the business after years of working as a prostitute in Sydney.
Speaking through an interpreter, she told a sentencing hearing all the women had been interviewed by phone before their arrival and had been made aware of the nature of the work.
She said she wanted to earn an income to support herself and her daughter, who is now 14, to pay off a unit she bought in Sydney in 2004 and to support her family in Thailand.
The court heard the woman made a profit of between $10,000 and $18,000 on each sex worker after accommodation, food, medical and phone bills had been accounted for.
The profit also depended on how fast each woman could pay off her debt.
The defendant, who holds an accountancy diploma from Thailand, denied she made a profit of "11 times $53,000", as the prosecution claimed.
Once each worker had paid off her debt, she had become her own agent, the court heard.
The defendant cried throughout the hearing and expressed remorse for her actions.
She said she was worried about the impact a jail sentence would have on her daughter.
The defendant's partner, who is also her daughter's father, told the court the mother and daughter had a very close relationship.
"She needs her mum," he said.
The hearing is continuing.
The court heard the woman made a profit of between $10,000 and $18,000 on each sex worker after accommodation, food, medical and phone bills had been accounted for.
The profit also depended on how fast each woman could pay off her debt.
The defendant, who holds an accountancy diploma from Thailand, denied she made a profit of "11 times $53,000", as the prosecution claimed.
Once each worker had paid off her debt, she had become her own agent, the court heard.
The defendant cried throughout the hearing and expressed remorse for her actions.
She said she was worried about the impact a jail sentence would have on her daughter.
The defendant's partner, who is also her daughter's father, told the court the mother and daughter had a very close relationship.
"She needs her mum," he said.
The hearing is continuing.
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