Pair jailed for running coffee shop brothel

Two Vietnamese women were sentenced to five years in prison yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for running an illegal prostitution racket out of their Boeung Keng Kang 1 commune coffee shop.

Another woman, 70, who worked as a cleaner at the shop and was also accused, had the charges against her dropped.

Ly Chan Mai, 35, the shop’s owner, and Nguyen Thi Heang, 32, a coffee maker, were convicted on “aggravated procurement of prostitution”, according to Judge Top Chhunheng.

The trio was arrested in February.

According to three sex workers found at the shop, clients were being charged between $5 and $10, and a 50 per cent commission had to be paid to Mai, police said.