13 Pinays rescued from Taiwanese-run sex den

MANILA, Philippines — Thirteen Filipina employees were rescued from a prostitution den in a hotel in Makati City before dawn yesterday.

Police officers raided a KTV bar in the Makati Palace Hotel on P. Burgos street at around 3:30 a.m. and arrested the bar’s Taiwanese owners, Shih Fang Chen, 65 and Po Yi-chen, 55.

Lawmen also arrested 14 Chinese men, believed to be workers at a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO).

Clients would transact with the owners through messaging application WeChat and check into the hotel to enter the KTV bar, police said.

The rescued women each had several condoms in their bags, according to investigators.

A former employee of the KTV bar said she told police about the sex trade in the establishment.

The bar’s owners and the 14 POGO employees face charges of human trafficking.