Australian Jailed In Cambodia Over Illegal Surrogacy Services

An Australian woman has been found guilty of providing commercial surrogacy services in Cambodia and jailed for 18 months.

Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, was arrested in November 2016, not long after the Cambodian authorities banned commercial surrogacy.

The woman, a qualified nurse, had denied the charges, claiming she only provided medical care to the surrogates.

But after spending nine months awaiting trial, she was jailed for 18 months for her involvement, acting as a go between for the parents and the pregnant woman.

Previous reports said the Davis-Charles, was also behind a clinic that matched foreign couples to surrogate mothers from Cambodia.

Many nations in South East Asia have banned commercial surrogacy.

Thailand banned foreigners who sought Thai woman to act as surrogate mothers after a string of scandals came to light in 2015. Other nations in the region soon followed suit, including neighbouring Cambodia.

Laos, another neighbour of Thailand, still permits commercial surrogacy at present.

Cambodia was also known for organ trafficking and the export of breast milk, now both prohibited in the country.

Source: BBC News