An Australian nurse who was jailed for running an illegal surrogate baby trade in Cambodia has lost her appeal in court.
Tammy Davis-Charles, 50, was found guilty in August 2017 of running an illegal commercial surrogacy clinic.
The Melbourne woman had her sentence upheld when she appealed at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday.
Charles was arrested in November 2016 with two Cambodian colleagues after the country passed an edict forbidding commercial surrogacy.
Tammy Davis-Charles (pictured), 50, was found guilty in August 2017 of running an illegal commercial surrogacy clinic
On Monday, she lost an appeal to her sentence in the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Members of the Cambodian police escort Australian surrogacy fixer Tammy Davis-Charles (top, R)
Charles and two Cambodian co-defendants were sentenced to one year and six months in prison on charges including being an intermediary in surrogacy and engaging in falsifying documents.
Charles’ two co-defendants, Penh Rith and Samrithchan Chariya, also had their sentences upheld.
Appeal Court Judge Kim Dany said the court had ‘already given a lenient sentence’.
Dressed in a blue prisoner uniform, Charles did not react to the ruling or speak to reporters afterwards.
She will have one more opportunity to appeal the sentence in front of the Supreme Court.
Cambodia was a popular destination for infertile couples seeking babies through commercial surrogacy before the practice was banned in 2016.
Charles (pictured right) and two Cambodian co-defendants were sentenced to one year and six months in prison
The appeal judge said Charles’ sentence was ‘already lenient’, and ruled to uphold the sentences of the woman’s co-defendants, Penh Rith and Samrithchan Chariya
Charles (L) sits in a van while arriving at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 08 January 2018
Charles (second from left) arrives at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 08 January 2018
Tammy Davis-Charles was jailed for running an illegal commercial surrogacy clinic in Cambodia
Judge So Lyna said Davis-Charles charged foreign couples between $50,000 to $70,000 for surrogacy services and paid Cambodian women between $10,000 to $12,000 to carry babies on their behalf.
She said Davis-Charles provided surrogacy services to 23 Australian and American couples and that Davis-Charles paid Penh Rithy $600 to $800 to organise paperwork for babies born through Cambodian surrogate mothers.
Judge So Lyna said Charles’ assistants, Rithy and Chariya, knew about the commercial surrogacy ban but still engaged in the business.
Davis-Charles sits in a car near the Municipal Court in June 2017 when she was on trial in Phnom Penh
The Australian nurse has been jailed for running an illegal commercial surrogacy clinic in Cambodia
She was found guilty of being a intermediary in surrogacy and engaging in falsifying documents along with her two Cambodian assistants
Davis-Charles, who has been detained in the Cambodian capital since Nov. 2016, told the court during the trial that her job was only to take care of surrogate mothers.
She said she did not know surrogacy was illegal in Cambodia.
Davis Charles was also fined $1,000 and Penh Rithy and Samrithchan Chariya were fined $500 each.
As a result of the ban on commercial surrogacy in Cambodia and Thailand, many couples are now turning to communist Laos for In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and surrogacy services.
Despite banning commercial surrogacy, neighboring Thailand remains a key centre for surrogate births, thanks to sophisticated medical care.
Davis Charles, and her assistants Penh Rithy and Samrithchan Chariya were sentenced to 1-1/2 years behind bars
Police alleged Davis-Charles moved from Thailand to take advantage of the continued demand after several scandals in the neighboring country prompted a government crackdown.
More than 20 Cambodian surrogate mothers were paired with clients in the Davis-Charles clinic, and they received around $10,000 each.
With cheap medical costs, a large pool of poor young women and no laws excluding gay couples or single parents, countries in Southeast Asia were for years attractive destinations for the surrogacy trade.
Cambodia defended its decision by saying it did not want the country to become a ‘factory’ for making babies.
Laos has emerged as the next frontier in the ‘rent-a-womb’ business, which still exists through shadowy unregulated networks in Cambodia and other countries.