Five suspects were sentenced yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court for attempting to traffic Cambodian women to China for marriage in December of 2014.

Chinese nationals Huy De Hua, 35, and Xie Tao Seng, 50, were sentenced to seven years in prison, and Zhou Yanping, 42, was sentenced to five years in prison for “attempting to commit human trafficking”, according to the presiding judge, Kor Vandy.

Zhou Yanping, however, will only need to serve eight months in prison, with the rest of the sentence suspended.

A Cambodian couple also involved in the scheme, Vong Nita and E Livhourn, were each sentenced to a year in prison and fined 2 million riel (about $500) for providing fake documents; however, they will only be required to spend one month and 12 days prison.

According to court documents, all five suspects were arrested in Phnom Penh on December 23, 2014, as they were leaving via car for Thailand through the Poipet checkpoint.

The four women, who are between 21 and 24 years old, have since been sent back to their families after they were debriefed by counsellors.