THE Philippine Embassy in Malaysia lauded the decision of a Malaysian court convicting a Malaysian and his Filipina wife for trafficking three Filipino women for prostitution.

At the same time, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya appealed to Filipinos to be cautious in accepting job offers overseas owing to the proliferation of traffickers.

Estimates from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Embassy in the Philippines showed that there are close to 400,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Malaysia, most of them trafficked women and children being forced to sex slavery and bonded labor.

Malaya said job offers need to be verified with the Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration to prevent them from being victimized by traffickers.

The Jalan Duta Sessions Court 14 in Kuala Lumpur imposed an eight-year jail sentence against Malaysian Kwong Tuch Choy and his wife Nancy, and a fine of RM30,000 ($10,000) or RM5,000 ($1,666) for each charge per accused, for the trafficking of three Filipino women in 2009.

“The vigorous prosecution undertaken by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Malaysian Attorney General’s Chamber is a clear manifestation of the host government’s resolve in addressing illegal trafficking in persons, particularly its worst form, for prostitution. We are grateful for the full attention the authorities have given to this case,” Malaya said.

The three victims who testified and later repatriated to the Philippines are Dynalyn, 23; Rhea, 23; and Sarah, 24.

Malaya said a stay in the implementation of the sentence was allowed by the Sessions Court pending the appeal filed by the accused at the Malaysian High Court. 

However, a bail of RM10,000 ($3,333) each and other requirements were imposed on them.

Likewise, a Singaporean, Alfred Lim, is facing criminal complaints of human trafficking in Malaysia based on complaints filed by two Filipina victims in 2009.

The embassy awaits the decision of the Malaysian court on the case against the Singaporean.