M’sian forced into prostitution in Perth by childhood friend, court told

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian was forced to work in a brothel in East Perth by a childhood friend, the District Court of Western Australia was told yesterday.
Khoo Lay Foon, a former prostitute, was accused of tricking her friend into going to Perth, taking away the woman's passport and forcing her to work in the flesh trade, The West Australian news portal reported today.
The court was told that Khoo arranged for her partner to buy her childhood friend a flight to Western Australia from Malaysia for what was was supposed to be a 10-day holiday in December 2015.
When the woman arrived, she was driven to an East Perth brothel and was allegedly told she would have to work to pay back the A$1,900 (RM6,450) she owed Khoo for the travel arrangements.
Police said the woman's passport was confiscated and she was told she would not get it back until she cleared her debt. The victim spent a week at the brothel before going to police.
Prosecutor Lisa Boston said Khoo trapped her friend into working as a prostitute so she could make money from her and took her passport so she could extort her, the report said.
Khoo was said to have sent a text message to the brothel owner before her friend arrived in Perth telling the "lady boss" about her "young and very pretty" friend.
The prosecutor told the jury the victim was unfamiliar with Australian laws and thought she had no choice but to do as she was told.
The victim escaped after contacting a friend and asking about the rules in Australia. She left the brothel the next day and called police, who told her she was allowed to move around freely and organised for a taxi to take her to a station.
When interviewed by Australian Federal Police, Khoo is alleged to have said the victim asked to be taken to a brothel after she arrived in Perth. Khoo said her friend had run away from Malaysia because she owed a lot of money to loan sharks and she wanted to help her.
Defence lawyer Paul Catalano said his client admitted she arranged the woman's plane ticket, picked her up from the airport and drove her to the brothel so she could get work. However, she disputed claims she confiscated her passport and deceived her about her stay, he added.
Khoo is alleged to have worked as a prostitute for three months after she moved to Western Australia in 2015 but she stopped when she got a boyfriend. It is claimed that after she quit, she allegedly started helping women move to Australia so they could work at two Perth brothels.
The trial is ongoing.