Thai police are investigating how three Thai masseuses were held captive in South Africa by their employers. One of the women died, allegedly after eating toxic mushrooms.
The two surviving women said they were "enslaved" in prison-like conditions after being lured to South Africa under false pretences, according to a complaint to Thailand's Department of Special Investigation.
South Africa is in the process of finalising new legislation that provides for severe penalties for human trafficking, including life imprisonment or a maximum fine of R100-million.
Pawinee Sridee-iam, 56, and her sister Rungrasmee, 46, were led to believe they could earn R27000 a month as massage therapists by a recruitment company certified by the Labour Ministry in Thailand. They travelled to Cape Town in November last year, where their passports were confiscated before they were taken to Johannesburg.
"It looked like a prison," said Pawinee in an interview with a Thai newspaper.
"Oh my God, I couldn't believe it. This place was surrounded by a high-tension power line and dotted with many doors.
"Some masseuses who worked there a long time told me that I was a new victim. When I heard this I was so scared," she said.
The sisters said they were forbidden to return home and had to work 12-hour days until they could repay an imposed "debt" of R34000.
Paisit Sungkahapong, a director of Thailand's anti-human trafficking unit, said his agency was investigating "fraudulent employment" in South Africa.
The Thai woman who died has not been identified. Her husband was told she died in December after picking wild mushrooms and eating them.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.