Cambodian court jails 13 pregnant Filipino surrogates

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Cambodian court has sentenced 13 pregnant Filipino women to four years in jail for acting as surrogate mothers, in the latest crackdown on the outlawed practice.

The 13 were among 24 foreign women detained by Cambodian police in Kandal province in September and charged with attempted cross-border human trafficking, according to a statement from the Kandal court.

Following a trial, the court on Monday sentenced the 13 to "four years in prison", although two years of the sentence would be suspended, the statement said.

The court said it had strong evidence showing that the 13 "have the intention... to have babies to sell to a third person in exchange for money, which is an act of human trafficking".

The court statement did not give details on what would happen to the babies of the 13 when they were born.

A Cambodian woman, who cooked meals for the Filipino women, was also jailed for two months and one day for being an accomplice, the court said.

Seven other Filipino and four Vietnamese women, who were not pregnant, have been deported from Cambodia, Chou Bun Eng, vice-chair of Cambodia's National Committee for Counter Trafficking, told AFP on Tuesday.

In 2016, Cambodia issued a snap ban on commercial surrogacy after neighbouring Thailand pulled the plug on the trade the previous year -- putting an abrupt end to a thriving industry for hopeful parents, many from Australia and the United States.

But demand for commercial surrogacy remains high after China eased its one-child policy and agencies in Cambodia continue to offer the service.

Sources in the kingdom have previously told AFP that couples -- mostly from China -- are willing to pay between $40,000 to $100,000 to surrogacy agents to find a Cambodian woman who can carry their child.

In 2018, an Australian nurse who ran a surrogacy clinic was jailed for 18 months in Cambodia.

Dozens of Cambodian women paid to carry babies for Chinese clients were also arrested in recent years but they were released on bail after agreeing to keep the children. — Agence France-Presse