Ten foreign women from Thailand and Vietnam were rescued on Tuesday by the authorities from brothels in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The women, who were allegedly forced into prostitution, were freed in a raid on brothels co-run by a 68-year-old mother and her 36-year-old daughter.
The elderly woman surnamed Chang, who for decades had been known for running brothel businesses in nearby Taoyuan, reportedly groomed her daughter, also surnamed Chang, as her successor when their vice business expanded to Hsinchu, the China Times reported.
The pair allegedly operated brothels in Hsinchu’s red light district, using foreign women who were supplied by employment agents who lured Thai and Vietnamese women whose families were in financial difficulties.
Preliminary investigations suggested that the women were forced to have sex with 10 to 15 customers daily. They received no days off, even while menstruating.
During the early hours of August 21, officers from the Taoyuan Office of the Investigation Bureau, the National Immigration Agency and the Hsinchu County police raided two locations where they freed 10 Thai and Vietnamese women.
The accused mother and daughter were arrested for human trafficking, while a Vietnamese woman surnamed Nguyen – who was identified as the employment agent – and two guards surnamed Huang in their thirties, were also arrested for committing offences against morals.