Australia’s highest court has reinstated the first convictions under the nation’s sex slavery laws in a test case with ramifications for future prosecutions.
The High Court on Thursday upheld a prosecution appeal against a lower court decision that overturned a brothel owner’s convictions and 10-year prison sentence for enslaving five Thai prostitutes.
Melbourne madam Wei Tang was convicted by a jury in 2006 of five counts of possessing a slave and five counts of exercising a power of ownership over a slave.
The 44-year-old Australian was the first to be convicted under anti-slavery laws passed by federal parliament in 1999.
I don’t know what is more creepy; that wacky Thai operation Wei Tang had going, or the fact that sex-slave ownership is so prevalent in Australia that the Government felt compelled to enact a special set of laws against it.
That’s a bait-n-switch picture. 🙁
Gretchen Mol as Betty Page. Nice photo.
My first reaction was – Great a slavery conviction. Then – Wow. Am anti-slavery law enacted in 1999!
You’re right, who knew? It does take time for radical new laws from the liberal left to seep through the population.
Jeez. Yet another roadblock for entrepreneurship. No wonder people get discouraged trying to start a business: red tape!
#1 – Derailed
What did you expect?
Re-Helzerman
What shocks me is that necrophilia is so prevalent in America that the Government felt compelled to enact a special set of laws against it.
Most officials don’t seem to want to admit this but sex slavery is very common in some countries.
… at least that’s the impression I have gotten in my travels.
In Dubai, it’s a poorly kept secret but there are many women, girls and boys kept against their will to work as prostitutes.
The only time something seems to be done about it is when one escapes and flees to a consulate, causing a diplomatic problem.
I personally know of some westerners who have tried to help these women but then the government made helping them illegal!
Technically, they called it running a charity without a permit. But, they refuse to issue a permit to help these women.
It’s a travesty but, sadly, not unique to Dubai.
Wow, who knew that women don’t enjoy being prostitutes?
Here’s the former brothel owner, Wei Tang. (from The Age)
Canada has a huge problem with this type of enslavement…
In Toronto and Vancouver especially, there are TONNES of “spas” and “massage” parlours tucked behind strip malls, above convenience stores and generally in odd places.
I have a rule of thumb; If it doesn’t look like a place a woman would go to get her nails done, it’s a place for a man to get done. Women who go for spas like the 5 star treatment. I don’t think they want to be climbing up narrow steps above a store to a spa with a faded sign and boarded up windows…
#5 Dang, I wish I used that photo. (of course, we both know if anyone is wearing that outfit in DC is Condi)
#6 LDA necrophilia is illegal in the USA?! uh oh….
Well, I was all set to be real upset until I read the details provided by Jag at #9. Prostitution is legal in Australia. Seems like overkill to me to “force” these Thai Prostitutes to do what they wanted to do in the first place, or maybe they were slaves in Thailand too and just got “sold.”
If these places are “every where” the cops in Oz and USA really should be busting the operations TO THE POINT OF liberating the workers. Disgusting that prostitution’s good service should be tarnished by association with slavery.
Helzerman,
Thanks for the update. It is so hard to keep up with all the laws today.
And that necrophilia shit? Cripes, if you hadn’t of told me, … . OK, new plans for tonight.
WTF look at all of the religious moralizers on here who think they should lord over everybody else and tell them whether or not they should own sex slaves. Stuff your mysticism where the sun don’t shine and quit trying to run people’s lives.
#11 – Helzerman – we both know if anyone is wearing that outfit in DC is Condi
But she would just use it as a tease for Bush and Cheney, because I think she’s asexual.