A Thai woman, who allegedly trafficked her 12-year-old daughter into sex work in Japan, has been arrested in Taiwan.
Taiwanese police detained the woman on Saturday for her suspected involvement in prostitution in Taiwan. Immigration officials said she arrived on the island in September.
Her arrest follows the detention of a Japanese man last week, for allegedly employing the girl at his massage parlour in Tokyo.
The mother is accused of taking her daughter to Japan in June and forcing her to provide sexual services to the parlour’s customers.
Japanese investigators said the girl, who does not speak Japanese, was made to live in the parlour’s kitchen and to service around 60 clients between June and July.
The mother reportedly left Japan while her daughter remained on a 15-day “short-term stay” visa.
Police said all payments from the girl’s work were managed by the parlour’s owner, who sent the remaining proceeds, after
deducting the parlour’s share, to the mother.
The case came to light in September, when the girl sought help from Tokyo’s immigration bureau, telling officials she had been forced into sex work and wanted to return to Thailand to resume her studies.
Japanese police are treating the case as potential human trafficking.
The massage parlour owner, Hosono Masayuki, has been charged with violating Japan’s Labour Standards Law, which prohibits employing minors under 15.
Taiwan’s authorities confirmed that the mother is being held pending further investigation.
Thai police say she has travelled abroad 27 times in recent years, including to Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam, raising suspicions that she may be linked to a broader trafficking network.
