The Wan Chai District Court on Thursday, March 4, found two Filipinos, a club owner and a staff, guilty of human trafficking filed by their Filipino victims. Sentencing is set on March 22, which carries the maximum penalty of imprisonment for not more than three years.

In June 2009, the two Filipino victims were recruited by a relative to work as waitresses in Macau. When they arrived in Macau, they were told that a job was waiting for them in Hong Kong. The victims traveled to Hong Kong but were forced to work as entertainers/prostitutes in a club in Wan Chai. After two days, they were rescued by some Filipinos in Hong Kong who assisted them in reporting their plight to the Philippine Consulate General. The formal complaint, filed with the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, resulted in the arrest of nine Filipinos during a raid at the club where the victims worked. The club owner and a staff were jailed for human trafficking, while the seven Filipinos were deported to the Philippines.

Since the filing of the case, the victims remained in the custody of a Hong Kong-managed shelter house and closely monitored by the PCG and the Hong Kong police. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas, a national government agency based in Manila, will provide the necessary assistance, such as livelihood support and filing of charges against their relative in Macau, upon the arrival of the victims in the Philippines.