One woman told of how her parents died when she was young, forcing her to quit school at 12 and start working.

Another woman carried the burden of her family's debts after the death of her older brother.

These women worked for Chee Mei Wong, a madam at Diamonds brothel in Crows Nest, on Sydney's lower north shore, who recruited them to Australia with the promise of education and a fresh start.

Instead, the women and two others were kept in sexual servitude, working 17-hour days and having to perform sexual acts even when they refused or were sick, Judge Deborah Sweeney told the NSW District Court on Friday.

Though they were enrolled in business courses, the women were not allowed to study and were told they had to work off a debt to Wong.