Man charged in alleged sex-ring bust appeals bail denial

ONE of the two Chinese men, charged in March with harbouring under-aged Venezuelan girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation, has appealed the refusal by a Master of the High Court to grant him bail.

Justices Alice Yorke Soo-Hon, Prakash Moosai and Mark Mohmmed, who heard the bail appeal on Tuesday, have reserved their decision to July 2.

Chang Boa Wang, 37, of Liaoning, China, was first denied bail when he and his co-accused Wei Liang Wu, of Guangdong Province, China, first appeared before a Port of Spain magistrate on April 1 accused of the offences which are alleged to have taken place earlier this year.

The two were arrested following a series of police raids in the Woodbrook and Westmoorings on February 5.

Wang and Wu did not form part of the initial group of 14 Chinese and five Venezuelans who were taken into custody during the raids, but were arrested at a later date as police investigations into an alleged sex trafficking ring intensified.

In all, 19 young Venezuelan girls, between the ages of 15 and 19, were rescued from a house at Western Circle, Westmoorings.

Wang and Wu were jointly charged with harbouring two girls for the purpose of prostitution and Wang, police said, was a former military commander in China.

Both men applied to a Master sitting in the criminal jurisdiction of the court for bail but were denied.

Only Wang appealed.