33 people have been sentenced to gaol terms of up to 7 years and fines totalling 696,000 euros for forcing Chinese women to “prostitute themselves day and night” for years. The sentence was passed down by the Ghent District Court. “The defendants lived off the women’s labour” the ruling states.
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Prison and fines for gang that forced Chinese women to “work as prostitutes day and night”
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In his judgement, the judge was extremely harsh on the defendants. “In an organised way and on a large scale they systematically exploited the vulnerable position of Chinese women by forcing them into prostitution. The women were recruited in impoverished neighbourhoods in China, with the promise that they would become rich in Europe.”
Instead, however, they were forced to “engage in prostitution day and night”. “They had absolutely no say in their clientele or the services they were required to provide. Everything was arranged by call centres that were designed to exploit the women as commodities.”
“The defendants exploited the women’s labour. One victim was even killed in a particularly violent manner as a result.”
Here the court is referring here to Sun Lichun, the sex worker who was murdered by a client in early 2023. That client was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for this offence earlier this year.
The women were exploited in an organised manner “solely for financial gain”. “No thought was given to the impact on the victims. This shows a particular contempt for the women.”
33 defendants were ultimately convicted. According to the court, they were all part of a criminal organisation and were guilty of human trafficking. The sentences range up to 7 years’ imprisonment, with fines of up to 696,000 euros.
Five defendants were acquitted.
Only one of the defendants was present in the courtroom. He was immediately arrested because there was a risk of reoffending and because it was feared he might flee to Hong Kong (PRC).
What was at stake in this case?
The so-called ‘Lotus case’ sheds a rare and detailed light on how an international network sexually exploited hundreds of Chinese women on a large scale for many years.
The case began in 2019 after the police had established that an increasing number of advertisements featuring Chinese women were appearing on specialised prostitution websites. Investigations were launched in various parts of the country, and it soon became clear that the same organisation was behind all these advertisements.
Phones were collected via so-called ‘phone shops’, prices were agreed, and appointments were made. The forced sex workers were made to work in flats and hotel rooms, sometimes seven days a week.
It soon became clear that the network had international branches, but victims were also being exploited here in Belgium. In February 2023, the police raided several locations, finding a total of 21 victims. They had been lured from China to Europe and had had to pay a large sum of money to do so. They were forced to ‘pay off’ these financial debts by working for the criminal organisation as sex workers. The women were completely trapped in this web and were entirely dependent on the traffickers for everything.