Cape brothel lands women in court

Two Chinese women appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court, in Cape Town, for allegedly running a brothel.

They allegedly lured women from China to South Africa with the false promise of jobs that paid monthly salaries of between R40,000 and R50,000.

Both have been charged with keeping a brothel and human trafficking.

Chengyong Zhang, 39, and Lian Yung Lu, 34, both of Marais Street, Goodwood, appeared before magistrate Sean Lea, who warned them to appear in court again on May 17.

Their arrest at their Goodwood premises in February resulted from an investigation by the City of Cape Town's vice squad.

This, after a member of the squad noticed an advertisement in a local newspaper for a massage parlour operating from a house in Goodwood.

Zhang and Lu are out on bail of R5000 each.

Vice squad members and the SA Police Service human trafficking task team, raided the premises in February and rescued two Chinese women, aged 25 and 29, who were being forced to work as prostitutes.

While Zhang and Lu were arrested, the two young women were taken to a place of safety.

In a statement issued in February, the City of Cape Town said vice squad police often read the newspapers for massage parlour advertisements, because these were sometimes a front for brothels.

The city said the two rescued women had been promised a job with a reputable company, and that their journey from China had been a long one.

They travelled to South Africa by air and sea, and then to Cape Town by bus.

On their first night at the Goodwood premises, both women were allegedly raped and informed by the brothel manager that they would regularly be subjected to acts of this nature.