Thirty-two women who acted as surrogate mums in a human trafficking case have been handed suspended jail terms.

A GROUP of 32 women, who acted as surrogates for Chinese clients, were found guilty of human trafficking and handed suspended jail terms with an order to raise their children “well” in Cambodia’s first trial of surrogate mothers.

The 32 were arrested while pregnant in 2018 and, in the absence of laws covering surrogacy, charged under human trafficking laws, drawing criticism from human rights groups who said the women should be treated as victims.

A Chinese man and five Cambodian

women arrested alongside the 32, and a Cambodian man and a Chinese woman arrested since, were also sentenced on Monday for their roles in organising the commercial surrogacy, said court spokesman Y. Rin.

He said the sentences among the 40 convicted ranged from three to 16 years, declining to give a breakdown.

The surrogates – who were set to earn about US$10,000 (RM43,526) each, more than six times the average annual salary – had their sentences suspended and were ordered to “raise the children well” or be sent to prison.

Cambodia was a popular international destination for couples looking to have babies through commercial surrogacy, a practice made illegal in 2016 after an uptick in the trade following a ban by neighbouring Thailand the previous year.

However, a proposed law covering the trade is stuck at draft stage, leaving the 32 women – and at least 14 more arrested since them – to face human trafficking laws that carry jail terms of up to 20 years.

Cambodian Centre for Human

Rights head Chak Sopheap said the law should not criminalise surrogates who were “most likely at the sharp end of various economic and political hardships that caused them to make the decision”.

After their arrest in July 2018, the 32 surrogates were detained for five months before being released on bail on compassionate grounds, on the condition that they look after the babies.

The women’s lawyer, Chea Sophy, said it was unclear if any of his clients would appeal the court’s ruling. — Reuters