A high court in the Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced two Chinese nationals and one Congolese official to 10 years in prison for soliciting Chinese women as prostitutes in the country.
Their lawyer Nicky Bayo said on Saturday,”My clients Ye Jingpeng and Lili Bin were sentenced the night of Thursday to Friday to 10 years and three months in prison for procurement involving Chinese women nationals and using fake documents.”
“A Congolese foreign ministry civil servant was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for having delivered courtesy visas without the authority to do so.”
“Eight Chinese women on an irregular stay were ordered to pay 1,000 dollars each,” Bayo said.
“Another 23 Chinese women were acquitted for lack of evidence,” the lawyer said.
The prosecutor ruled the women received regular wages and accused the two convicted Chinese nationals of “organising the sexual exploitation of young Chinese women in several cities”.
One of the acquitted women said she received $500 a month as a waitress.
The case had drawn the attention of the local media and comments on social media because prostitution procurement trials rare in the DR Congo.