A Cambodian court convicted 13 Filipino women Monday on human trafficking charges for serving as surrogate mothers in an international ring selling babies to foreign clients, sentencing each to four years in prison.
The Kandal Provincial Court found the women guilty of selling, buying, or exchanging persons for cross-border transfer. Two years of each sentence were suspended, according to court spokesperson So Sarin, who declined to comment on the number of women still pregnant or plans for the babies after birth.
The women, currently held at a police hospital outside Phnom Penh, were arrested in September during a raid on a villa in Kandal province, where authorities discovered 20 Filipino and four Vietnamese nationals. Eleven women who were not pregnant were deported.
Cambodia’s Interior Ministry stated that while ringleaders remain unidentified, they considered the surrogates co-conspirators rather than victims. The operation reportedly originated in Thailand, which arranged the women’s accommodation in Cambodia.
The case stands out as unusual because surrogates typically work in their home countries. Commercial surrogacy has shifted to Cambodia after restrictions tightened in neighboring Thailand, India, and Nepal. Developing nations attract surrogacy arrangements due to lower costs, with U.S. and Australian services typically charging around $150,000.
Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy in 2016 amid concerns about human trafficking. The country has previously prosecuted international surrogacy cases, including a 2017 conviction of an Australian woman and two Cambodian associates who received 18-month prison terms.
