‘Trafficked’ teenage bride on way home
A YOUNG Cambodian woman who was tricked into an arranged marriage in China and then imprisoned by her Chinese “husband” has been rescued and will be repatriated to Cambodia, according to Ministry of Interior spokesperson Touch Sokhak.
The teenager recently shared a video to social media asking for help. She described that she was trafficked into China by a broker, and had been locked in a small room for six months. She appealed for help from the Cambodian leadership.
“I am 16 years old, and come from Tbong Khmun province’s Kroch Chhmar district. I was cheated by a broker who brought me to China. I was told that I was being brought here to work, but instead they sold me and forced me to marry a Chinese man,” she said.
“I have been locked up for six months; the door is locked from the outside. I can only beg for help. Please ... someone, help me to get home,” she pleaded.
Sokhak said that following a request from the Cambodian authorities, Chinese officers intervened and freed the girl.
“The Chinese police officers removed her from the small room she was being kept in. The Cambodian consulate office in China has begun the necessary procedure to bring her home,” he added.
The Tbong Khmum provincial administration released a March 10 press release which announced that provincial officials met with the victim’s sister Rom Kunthear, 31, to gather more information.
Kunthear told the authorities that her sister left home in early 2023 to find work in Phnom Penh at a garment factory. She sent home money every month, until five or six months ago, when the family lost contact. Her family imagined that she was angry with them for some reason, and had gone to live with her boyfriend, so they never reported her disappearance to the police.
It was only on March 9 that the family saw a video of the victim on Facebook, claiming that she was in China.
Chou Bun Eng, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and permanent vice chair of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT), said on March 11 that she appreciated the efforts being made to bring the victim home, but expressed her regret that the incident occurred at all.
She explained that regrettably, people were more likely to be exploited if they used brokers who were not licensed by the authorities.
In the past three months alone, Bun Eng noted that the authorities have rescued more than 100 people who were trafficked.