Chinese national convicted for selling Pinays for sex to POGO workers

A Pasay court convicted a Chinese national for running a prostitution den of Filipino women catering to foreign POGO workers.

In a 69-page decision promulgated on November 28, the Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 113 sentenced a Chinese national also known as “Boss Ayang” to two (2) life terms and a fine amounting to P4,000,000.

The court found “Boss Ayang” guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violations of RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

The cases stemmed from a raid by Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the PNP Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) in a condominium complex in Pasay last November 25, 2023.

Fourteen (14) Filipino women including one (1) minor were rescued from a prostitution den catering exclusively to foreigners working in POGOs or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

The court held that in the cases, all of the elements of the crime are present.

“The accused Ayang’s purpose of hiring and maintaining the victims was to exploit them for prostitution or sexual exploitation, because the victims were ordered to engage in sexual activities for payment,” the court said.

The Court found “the testimonies of the witnesses for the prosecution to be candid, straightforward, and credible.”

The victims positively identified “Boss Ayang” as the mastermind of the prostitution operation.

One testified to have serviced “thirty to fifty (30-50) clients” in just one month of working for Ayang.

She added that “Ayang distributed clients to them through their group chat” and “she went to different hotels or condominiums to meet clients.”

Payments were made either in person through Philipine Peso, RMB or Chinese Yuan or through cashless transactions directly to Boss Ayang.

The victims “would remit half of their earnings to accused Ayang” and payment was made through mobile transfers “Ayang would give the portion of the victims in cash.”

The court said the “accused took advantage of their vulnerability of being impoverished, innocent, and having hailed from outside the metro which contributed to the disadvantaged conditions of the victims”.

The court, however, acquitted the two (2) other accused in the case.

The court found insufficient evidence to hold the Filipina accused as a principal in the trafficking of the victims.

“Her acts were limited to collecting the share of Boss Ayang from the victims” and that she had “no act of supervision or control over the other victims”.

The court identified the Filipina as a trafficking victim as well.

“Accused collected the shares of several women only because accused Ayang ordered her to do so, to which she agreed in her desperate attempt to earn money considering that the number of her customers had decreased,” the court said.

Another Chinese national who is Boss Ayang’s life partner was acquitted for reasonable doubt.

The said foreigner will be turned over to the Bureau of Immigration for deportation.

--VAL, GMA Integrated News