Melbourne's sex slave traders

The original article, which I have modified was written by Elissa Hunt for one of the local tabloid newspapers. I lifted this from the website Melbourne Indymedia

While the beautiful people of Brunswick Street pose as black clad "rebels" Melbourne's miserable underclass gets revealed and freed not by solidarity from the community but by criminal informers to the Police. Read about the shame of Brunswick Street, one of Melbourne's most fashionable retail & cafe streets.

THE first person in Australia found guilty of slavery will serve at least six years' jail for what a judge described as crimes against humanity.

My neighbour and brothel owner Wei Tang was convicted last week by a County Court jury of possessing and using five women as sex slaves in 2002 and 2003. The five victims were recruited in Thailand to work in Tang's Club 417 in Brunswick St, Fitzroy, and given $45,000 "contracts", which they did not quite pay off by servicing up to 900 clients over a period of about 3 months.

They were smuggled into Australia and the Fitzroy madam, 44, used the threat of capture and deportation by immigration officials to keep the slaves bound to their apartment in Rae St, which was known as Mummies.

Holy Cow! That's my street!

Judge Michael McInerney said the fact that the door to the apartment was not permanently locked did not mean the women were free to leave, because of Tang's insidious use of fear of deportation and their lack of money, passports or legitimate visas. Tang charged customers $110 for her slaves' services and $50 went towards their contract debt. She pocketed the rest.

They worked six days a week and the only way the women could make any money for themselves was to work a seventh shift, from which they could keep $50 a client.

Judge McInerney said the women might have consented to the contracts but did so because they were financially deprived and vulnerable, had little education and sought to better their lives. He rejected Tang's claim that the women got a good deal, saying the contracts were designed to procure large profits for her -- up to $69,000 a contract minus expenses -- while leaving the sex workers at grave risk of being deported when their contracts expired.

Tang, an Australian citizen, pleaded not guilty and last year a jury could not reach a verdict, resulting in a retrial that lasted eight weeks. The woman who recruited the victims in Thailand and arranged for them to be brought to Australia -- and who cannot be named for legal reasons -- pleaded guilty to slave trading and gave evidence against Tang.

Judge McInerney said he took into account the fact that Tang had come from a harsh background in China. But, given her own experiences of repression, it was surprising she would commit such serious crimes against humanity, the judge said. He jailed Tang, of North Balwyn, for 10 years and ordered that she serve at least six years before becoming eligible for parole.

• Read more news about Australian sex slavers getting caught here