The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thailand.

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
User avatar
General Mackevili
The General
Posts: 18400
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 5:24 pm
Reputation: 3397
Location: The Kingdom
Contact:
United States of America

The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thailand.

Post by General Mackevili »

I thought all the missing kidneys got smuggled to Vietnam. Apparently some go to Thailand.

Image

A woman accused of persuading vulnerable people to sell their kidneys to patients in Thai hospitals was arrested in Phnom Penh on Tuesday night. Among her five alleged victims are two of her brothers and a cousin.

Yem Azisah, a 29-year-old woman who also goes by the name Sinuon, was arrested near her Chroy Changva district home by anti-human trafficking police acting on a complaint from one of her victims, whose motorbike had been held ransom by Ms. Sinuon as she sought her cut of the $13,000 price she had brokered for the man’s kidney.

Ms. Sinuon’s stepfather, Nhem Phalla, 40, was also arrested when he went to visit her in custody later Tuesday night. He is accused of having aided her in the acquisition of fake identities for the kidney donors, who were required by Thai doctors to be related to the person receiving their organ.

“An Islamic-Khmer coffee seller and her stepfather were detained by municipal anti-human trafficking police on Tuesday night and will be sent to the court to be charged with human trafficking and fraudulent requests for documents,” said Lieutenant Colonel Keo Thea, chief of the Phnom Penh anti-human trafficking police.

“According to the law, even if a person agrees to sell their kidney, extracting organs is wrong.”

Ms. Sinuon and Mr. Phalla will be sent to face charges at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today.

According to Mr. Thea, Ms. Sinuon had been operating the transplant-brokering racket for nearly a year and had preyed on desperate people who were close to her. He said the arrests were the culmination of a 10-day investigation following a complaint from Ms. Sinuon’s cousin and fifth victim, Mout Satirin, 23.

“Sinuon was a person who persuaded young people and she was the one who brokered the price between the patient and the seller,” Lt. Col. Thea said. “The suspect got some of the money from the victims for selling the kidneys.”

Ms. Sinuon would broker a price with a patient waiting for a kidney transplant, according to police, and then siphon off a share of the cash for herself. All of the kidney recipients were Cambodians transferred to Bangkok for the operation.

Lt. Col. Thea said Ms. Sinuon’s victims received between $10,000 and $13,000 for their kidneys. But her scheme unraveled on June 5, when Mr. Satirin, who says he was promised $5,000 for his organ, checked into Bangkok’s Bumrungrad International Hospital to have his kidney removed.

There, Mr. Satirin ran into the woman who would receive his organ.

“The patient told me that she was paying $13,000 to buy a kidney, but [Ms. Sinuon] told me she was only selling for $5,000,” Mr. Satirin said.

As part of the alleged racket, Ms. Sinuon would take possession of items belonging to her victims when they went to Bangkok to be operated on.

It is unclear whether the meeting at Bumrungrad Hospital caused the kidney recipient to renege on the deal to pay Ms. Sinuon. But when Mr. Satirin returned to Phnom Penh—without one of his kidneys—Ms. Sinuon refused to return his motorbike, which was kept as collateral.

“She was angry at me because all the money from selling my kidney had not been transferred into her account,” Mr. Satirin said, adding that he had received $7,000 cash from the woman who received his kidney. On June 11, Mr. Satirin complained to police that his motorbike was being held ransom.

Mr. Satirin said that Ms. Sinuon had convinced not only him, but also two of her own brothers and a neighbor, to sell their kidneys to Cambodians who would be transferred to Bangkok for kidney transplants.

He said that his cousin had been trying to lure him into the scheme since 2011, and that only recently did he seriously consider taking up the offer, after returning to Cambodia from a two-year stint as a construction worker in Malaysia.

Mr. Satirin, the second of five siblings in a fatherless family, said that Ms. Sinuon came to him again this year shortly after doctors found that his mother had gall stones and a fallopian cyst.

“[Ms. Sinuon] came to persuade me again to sell a kidney to get money to cure my mother,” he said. “She said if I do not sell it, how would I cure my mother?”

“I hesitated about selling my kidney but there was no other way to save my mother.”

...click link to continue reading...

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/polic ... der-63048/
"Life is too important to take seriously."

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT ME

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
User avatar
General Mackevili
The General
Posts: 18400
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 5:24 pm
Reputation: 3397
Location: The Kingdom
Contact:
United States of America

Re: The Rumors are True! Sell your Kidneys to Thailand.

Post by General Mackevili »


Two Cambodian suspects allegedly involved in a human organ trafficking ring were arrested in Phnom Penh this week, officials said yesterday, in what has been hailed as a landmark case in the Kingdom.

Keo Thea, director of Phnom Penh’s municipal anti-human trafficking and child protection police, said 40-year-old Yem Phalla and his 29-year-old stepdaughter Yem Asi Sas were arrested on Tuesday evening at the capital’s Chroy Changva bridge following allegations that they had acted as brokers in a cross-border human organ business.

“They traded human kidneys, and we arrested them based on the victims’ complaints. It is a crime and they will be punished,” Thea said, adding that it was the first organ-trafficking case that his unit had uncovered.

Police have spoken to three of the victims, who showed them the scars from the operation, but the suspects confessed that they had persuaded at least two others to undergo the procedure.

According to Thea, the suspects persuaded victims to give up their kidneys by offering them a payout ranging from $3,000 to $5,000.

After arriving in Thailand, the victims were given fake documents by a Thai-based dealer, with their surname changed to match that of the person in need of a transplant.

Thea said the suspects told police that each kidney would be sold for $13,000 but did not explain how this money was divided with the dealer.
When the Post visited the suspects’ village in Chroy Changva commune yesterday, a relative who asked not to be named claimed that at least two family members had been targeted in the scam.

In an account confirmed by Thea, the source said the case only came to light after Phalla’s 23-year-old cousin Krin borrowed $3,000 from him. When he failed to pay the money back, Phalla stole Krin’s motorbike, prompting a police complaint.

When police questioned Krin about his relationship with the suspect, details of the kidney-trafficking scheme emerged.

“Krin sold his kidney through the suspect about a month ago. One of his older brothers also sold his kidney about a year ago,” the source told the Post.

Kdan Sivutha, a doctor and former director of the National Pediatric Hospital, said that while there are few short-term effects to having one kidney removed, the victims may suffer in the long term.

“The remaining [kidney] will have to work harder.… It will be weaker because only one side will work, and if they are ingesting bad chemicals," there could be negative effects, he said.

Internationally, there is growing demand for organs, which is causing the illicit trade to explode, according to the Bangkok-based regional office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

“The most common organs sought for in the ‘organ market’ are kidneys, followed by livers for purposes of transplantation. Such practices have increased exponentially in recent decades with the growing demand for live-donor organ transplants. This demand is attributable to an increasing differential between rates of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and deceased donor organ donation,” UNODC said in an email yesterday.

But while organ trafficking “follows patterns similar to other forms of human trafficking”, such as exploiting vulnerable populations, there are also “significant differences”, the email adds.

“Some of the actors and modus operandi of this crime stand in sharp contrast to other forms of trafficking in persons, e.g. the requirement of medical professionals, the matching of an organ recipient, the duration of exploitation and the subsequent release of the victim. Knowledge of these practices is not well known and, resultantly, the response globally has been, at best, uneven.”

In Cambodia, the trafficking of organs is prohibited under the anti-trafficking law and is punishable by seven to 15 years’ imprisonment.
But it is a sentence that has never before been handed down, according to Sok Sam Ouen, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project.
“We have never heard of this happening before in Cambodia.

Recently, we heard rumours [that organ trafficking was happening], but we have never seen people arrested,” Sam Ouen said.

Som Saret, deputy prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said he would need to see the evidence before he could speculate on what sentence might be delivered in the event of a trial and guilty verdict.

“Trading kidneys is a crime, but we do not know how many years the suspects will be sentenced to. Wait for the documents and the interrogation, but if there is no firm evidence, we still cannot charge them,” he said.

...click link to continue reading...

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/% ... %99-busted
"Life is too important to take seriously."

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT ME

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google+
Instagram
User avatar
LTO
Expatriate
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 10:28 pm
Reputation: 9
Location: KH
Contact:

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by LTO »

There's long been a black market organ trade in south and Southeast Asia. Those 'on demand for a price' organ transplants available in Singapore (and apparently Thailand) clearly weren't of legitimate origin. I think the urban legend had more to do with the claim of organs being stolen from unsuspecting people, not poor people selling their organs, which is a fairly well established practice, especially in India. Interesting that it wasn't Vietnamese buying/stealing organs as the Khmer rumor goes. Also interesting that the Cambodian cops felt the need to cite the ethnicity of the broker, as if that were relevant.
LTO Cambodia Blog

"Kafka is 'outdone' in our country, the new fatherland of Angkor" - Norodom Sihanouk
OrangeDragon
Site Admin
Posts: 4193
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 8:05 pm
Reputation: 17
United States of America

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by OrangeDragon »

Personally I've always thought make it illegal to sell your own kidney was stupid. Your body, your choice.

I was a potential donor for my grandmother a few years ago, but her sister was a better candidate, and got the full rundown on what to expect after... life after donation isn't all that bad really if you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Instead of making it illegal, make it regulated so people can't be taken advantage of... set a "market price" and pay equally.
User avatar
vladimir
The Pun-isher
Posts: 6077
Joined: Mon May 12, 2014 6:51 pm
Reputation: 185
Location: The Kremlin
Russia

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by vladimir »

Great business opportunity, open a bar in Snookies...blame it on the trees



NOW we know why so many Khmers travel to Thailand! The steak and kidney pie industry!
Jesus loves you...Mexico is great, right? ;)
User avatar
Bitte_Kein_Lexus
Expatriate
Posts: 4421
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
Reputation: 1325

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

LTO wrote:Also interesting that the Cambodian cops felt the need to cite the ethnicity of the broker, as if that were relevant.
Though it obviously makes no difference (nor is it highly relevant), I think it's just a matter of Khmers (and Chams) calling Chams Cham (sorry for the working). I don't think it's meant in a bad way, it's just the way they identify themselves. Western newspapers do it all the time as well.

What I find interesting is that she got so many family members to go ahead with it.
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
OrangeDragon
Site Admin
Posts: 4193
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 8:05 pm
Reputation: 17
United States of America

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by OrangeDragon »

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:
LTO wrote:Also interesting that the Cambodian cops felt the need to cite the ethnicity of the broker, as if that were relevant.
Though it obviously makes no difference (nor is it highly relevant), I think it's just a matter of Khmers (and Chams) calling Chams Cham (sorry for the working). I don't think it's meant in a bad way, it's just the way they identify themselves. Western newspapers do it all the time as well.

What I find interesting is that she got so many family members to go ahead with it.
An extra 5,000 is a LOT of money for some.
User avatar
phuketrichard
Expatriate
Posts: 16793
Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 5:17 pm
Reputation: 5735
Location: Atlantis
Aruba

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by phuketrichard »

there has been a special on cnn about trafficking of stolen kidneys from Nepal to India.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/26/world ... index.html
there is one particular town an hour outside Kathmandu that more than a few men have been duped.
Seems its a very big business
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
User avatar
Bitte_Kein_Lexus
Expatriate
Posts: 4421
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 7:32 pm
Reputation: 1325

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

OrangeDragon wrote:
Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:
LTO wrote:Also interesting that the Cambodian cops felt the need to cite the ethnicity of the broker, as if that were relevant.
Though it obviously makes no difference (nor is it highly relevant), I think it's just a matter of Khmers (and Chams) calling Chams Cham (sorry for the working). I don't think it's meant in a bad way, it's just the way they identify themselves. Western newspapers do it all the time as well.

What I find interesting is that she got so many family members to go ahead with it.
An extra 5,000 is a LOT of money for some.
I know, but by the sounds of the article it almost seems like she was pushing it on them.
Ex Bitteeinbit/LexusSchmexus
User avatar
StroppyChops
The Missionary Man
Posts: 10598
Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 11:24 am
Reputation: 1032
Australia

Re: The Urban Legends Are True! Kidneys Being Sold to Thaila

Post by StroppyChops »

Sumatran orphanage we work with, the older boys have been raised to be hypervigilant about the safety of the littlies as the village toddlers have been taken, harvested and remains left in the jungle. It's not investigated too strongly as it's "known" the organs are taken fur the Chinese trade, and no one wants to mess with that. Mind you, cannibalism is still practiced here, so I've always wondered.
Bodge: This ain't Kansas, and the neighbours ate Toto!
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], Deefer, Kammekor, Khmu Nation, laredo, Spigzy, WildAlaskaKen, xandreu, Zyzz and 1534 guests