Nine held for organ trafficking at Cambodian hospital
Nine hospital workers in Cambodia were arrested on suspicion of running an organ-trafficking ring, a news report said yesterday.
The director and deputy director of the military Preah Ket Mealea Hospital in Phnom Penh were arrested, along with a Chinese doctor and several people described as Chinese-Vietnamese nationals, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
They were accused of committing and assisting “human trafficking with intent”, the daily reported. Three to five people had their kidneys removed at the hospital last year, the Post said. Each kidney is believed to have been sold for about US$40,000 (Bt1.28 million) to Chinese buyers, with the donors receiving $5,000 each.
“The hospital director was questioned along with others,” police chief Chuon Sovan told the Post.
Last week, police arrested a Cambodian woman who had allegedly acted as a middleman between poor Cambodian organ donors and wealthy Cambodian patients in Thai hospitals. Trafficking human organs is punishable by seven to 15 years in prison in Cambodia.
