Taipei: Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted eight people, including a national from Vietnam, on charges of trafficking women from Indonesia to Taiwan to perform sex work and asked to confiscate more than NT$3.62 million (US$116,830) in profits from the operation.
According to Focus Taiwan, prosecutors said the case began in 2023 when a woman from Vietnam, surnamed Vo, formed a ring with a woman from Indonesia nicknamed “LUNA” and a man from Taiwan, surnamed Hu, to recruit and transport women from Indonesia to Taiwan for sex work.
Prosecutors said the group recruited victims with Facebook ads that offered “high-paying jobs” as spa workers, karaoke hostesses, or sex workers in Taiwan. Victims entered Taiwan using a 14-day visa-free period after traveling to Japan in tourist groups to obtain a Japanese visa, prosecutors said. After arrival in Taiwan, the group confiscated the victims’ passports and forced them to pose for erotic ads.
Prosecutors said the victims were kept in rented apartments in Taipei and New Taipei and forced to work more than 12 hours a day for pay of NT$200 to NT$500. The group told the women they had to work to pay debts from their trip to Taiwan to prevent them from seeking help or leaving.
Prosecutors said one woman died of heart failure in July 2024 while in hospital and expressed her unwillingness to return to the traffickers on her death bed. In February, prosecutors said one woman escaped with help from a client who was a man and went to the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, where she reported the trafficking.
Prosecutors listed the woman from Indonesia nicknamed “LUNA” as wanted for assisting the operation in Indonesia. Prosecutors charged members of the group with human trafficking and engaging in organized crime and asked the court for minimum prison sentences of six years for Vo and Hu and two years for two men from Taiwan, surnamed Chen and Chien, who rented rooms used by the ring. Four other people from Taiwan, surnamed Huang, Fang, Cho and Chen, were indicted for roles in transporting victims and soliciting business for the group.
Details of the indictment and charges:
Vo, a national from Vietnam, is accused of forming the ring in 2023 with LUNA and Hu.
LUNA, a woman from Indonesia, is wanted for assisting the operation in Indonesia.
Hu, a man from Taiwan, is accused of working with Vo and LUNA to run the operation.
Recruitment method: Facebook ads offering “high-paying jobs” as spa workers, karaoke hostesses, or sex workers.
Travel method: Victims traveled to Japan to obtain a Japanese visa, then entered Taiwan under a 14-day visa-free period.
Control measures: Passports were confiscated; victims were forced to pose for erotic ads; victims were told they owed debts from the trip.
Conditions: Victims were required to work more than 12 hours per day and were paid NT$200-500.
Fatality: One woman died of heart failure in July 2024 and reportedly refused to return to traffickers before she died.
Escape and report: One victim escaped in February and reported the case to the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei.
Legal actions: Prosecutors seek confiscation of more than NT$3.62 million (US$116,830) in profits and have charged the eight individuals with human trafficking and organized crime, seeking specified minimum prison terms for key suspects.