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Last Updated: Friday, May 18, 2007 11:24:34 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Vietnam court jails hotel employee-pimp

A 37-year-old woman who procured sex workers for guests at an upmarket Ho Chi Minh City hotel was sentenced to five years in jail Thursday.
A city court found Vo Thi Hong Hanh, a karaoke and bar manager at the four-star Amara Hotel, guilty of “brokering prostitution”.

Police said the prostitutes working under Hanh’s supervision had paid her in the form of jewels since she refused to take cash. She believed that would save her from arrest if the police busted the gang.

In March last year, some 50 undercover police officers raided the hotel and caught three prostitutes ‘in the act’ with Japanese men.

Hanh was arrested shortly afterwards along with 38 young women, 35 of whom confessed to entertaining mostly Japanese and Korean men three or four times a week for US$100 a night or VND1 million ($63) for an hour.

The police said all the women were young and pretty, owned expensive motorbikes, and joined Hanh’s racket for one or two years.

Prostitution in any form is illegal in Vietnam.

Reported by M.T, L.N - Translated by A.N.O.N