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Australia Sex slavery convictions upheld

Written by Staff WRiter
Thursday, 28 August 2008
THE High Court has upheld the convictions of a Melbourne brothel owner who became the first person found guilty of possessing and using sex slaves in Australia. Brothel owner Wei Tang was found guilty in 2006 of five counts of possessing a slave and five counts of exercising a power of ownership over a slave. She was sentenced to 10 years' jail for her role in enslaving five Thai women at her brothel, Club 417, and forcing them to work off debts of up to $45,000. But in June last year, Tang successfully appealed her convictions in the Victorian Court of Appeal. The court quashed her convictions and ordered a new trial, ruling the directions given to the jury were inadequate. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions appealed that decision to the High Court. Tang cross-appealed against the order for a new trial. The High Court today overturned the Court of Appeal's order for a new trial and held that the prosecution made out the required elements of the offences. Tang was the first person to be found guilty by a jury under the federal anti-slavery laws introduced in 1999. The case came to light after Club 417, in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, was raided in 2003. A Victorian County Court jury in Melbourne found her guilty of the counts after an eight-week trial and was sentenced to jail for a minimum of six years. The five Thai women worked six days a week serving up to 600 customers to pay their debt. If they worked a seventh day, they could keep the $50 per customer. The women were not under lock and key but had little money, limited English, worked long hours and feared they would be found by immigration authorities. Their visas had been obtained illegally and their passports were withheld by Tang. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments Write comment Name Email Website Title Comment Write the displayed characters Powered by Azrul's Jom Comment

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