A woman has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined BD3,000 by the High Criminal Court for trafficking a victim and forcing her into illicit activities.
The defendant, described as an Asian national, will also have to bear the costs of returning the victim to her home country, and will also be deported upon the completion of her sentence.
According to the Public Prosecution, it received a report on the incident from the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science’s Human Trafficking Division.
The court heard the defendant had deceived the victim by promising her a job opportunity in Bahrain. Instead, on arrival in the country, she was unlawfully detained in an apartment, threatened and forced to engage in illicit activities.
The victim was placed in a shelter associated with the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons and will return home shortly.
Meanwhile, defendants from two separate incidents are also facing charges relating to human trafficking. In the first case, the victim arrived in the kingdom to work as a domestic worker, but was then allegedly exploited through forced labour. She also reportedly had her wages withheld for several months without justification.
In the second case, the defendant allegedly threatened the victim into engaging in what has been described as ‘unlawful acts’ in exchange for money.
The women have also been placed in the shelter and both cases are scheduled to be heard over the coming weeks.
&uuid=(email))