13 Filipino Women Convicted in Cambodia for Selling Babies Through Surrogacy Ring

The women received four-year sentences, with two years suspended, for their roles in a human trafficking operation involving foreign clients.

The Kandal Provincial Court in Cambodia sentenced 13 Filipino women to four years in prison for selling babies to foreign clients through a surrogacy ring.
Two years of their sentences were suspended, meaning the women will only serve additional time if convicted of another crime.
The women were arrested in September during a raid in Kandal province, where authorities also found 20 Filipinos and four Vietnamese women; non-pregnant individuals were deported.
Cambodia's Interior Ministry stated that the women were considered offenders who conspired with organizers, not victims, and that the ringleaders remain unidentified.
Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy in 2016 after becoming a popular destination for low-cost surrogacy, following restrictions in neighboring countries like Thailand, India, and Nepal.