Prosecutors attempt to claw back £250,000 from brothel madam

A brothel madam has returned to a Fife court as prosecutors attempt to seize up to £250,000 of her takings.

Chin Chih Chang, 54, ran a vice den from a luxury waterfront apartment in Kirkcaldy.

She was convicted and ordered to do work in the community in May last year and was back in the town’s court yesterday, ahead of a confiscation hearing in December.

During her trial, the court heard customers visited the brothel Chang kept in Lord Gambier Wharf for more than a year up to May 2017.

One told how he received a “Brucie bonus” following a back rub, while another spoke of being offered the “girlfriend service” or a “naked massage”.

Chang sold sex for £80 to £110 at a time in the flat or in clients’ homes, through adverts placed on the website Gumtree.

She travelled north from her home in Hove, Sussex, for a pre-proof hearing where an update was given on the extensive inquiries which have been conducted into her affairs.

The Crown is trying to claw back nearly £250,000.

However, the case at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court has been protracted by complexities including the language barrier, with many of the documents under examination written in Mandarin.

Chang was accompanied by an interpreter while in the dock yesterday.

Solicitor Martin Maguire said: “We are in the process of obtaining further information in relation to a number of accounts and transactions to and from those accounts.

“We have asked for certain further information and she is in the process of gathering that.”

Chang avoided a jail sentence after she was found guilty of keeping or managing the brothel and was instead ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work and placed on a restriction of liberty, or tagging, order for a year.

She could yet be jailed if a sum agreed by the court is not paid.

Sheriff Alison Mckay set a further pre-proof hearing for November 12, ahead of the proof on December 3, 4 and 5.