Myanmar rescues 219 trafficked victims in August

Yangon, Sep 6: Police in Myanmar rescued 219 people who were trafficked in August, according to the figures published by Anti-trafficking in Persons Division on Sunday.

Of the saved victims during the month, 206 are men, who were sold into forced labour, while 11 are women who were sold into forced marriage and prostitution, Xinhua reported citing the report.

The 219 victims, who were trafficked to neighbouring countries of China, Thailand and Malaysia, also included two children, the sources said.

Over the past eight months, the authorities have saved 392 victims and arrested 165 traffickers with 78 suspects being on the run.

Figures also show that there was a total of 1,205 trafficking cases nationwide from 2006 up to August this year, in which the police rescued 2,394 victims and arrested 2,196 traffickers.

According to Myanmar's Central Body for Suppression of Trafficking in Persons, it is now rewriting the current Anti- Trafficking in Persons Law.

The law needs amending in order to close existing loopholes, a police official said.