13 surrogate mothers convicted of human trafficking in Cambodia

The women were found when police raided a villa near the capital Phnom Penh in September.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersCambodia jails 13 pregnant Filipino surrogatesGetty ImagesSurrogacy is illegal in Cambodia, but agencies continue to offer the service (file photo)Thirteen women from the Philippines have been convicted of human trafficking in Cambodia for intending to sell babies they carried through surrogacy.

They were sentenced to four years in prison, but with two years suspended, the Kandal Provincial Court said.

The court said it had strong evidence showing that the women intended on having the babies "to sell to a third person in exchange for money, which is an act of human trafficking".

The women are not expected to serve any jail time until giving birth, and the court did not say what will happen to the babies when they are born.

Surrogacy is illegal in Cambodia, but agencies continue to offer the service.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rjdj336xpo

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