- Title: Cambodia charges Australian nurse for running surrogacy clinic
- Date: 21st November 2016
- Summary: PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (NOVEMBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF A POLICE VAN CARRYING AUSTRALIAN NURSE CHARGED WITH ALLEGEDLY OPERATING AN ILLEGAL FERTILITY CLINIC, TAMMY DAVIS-LEE, DRIVING PAST
- Embargoed: 6th December 2016 11:07
- Keywords: Cambodia Australia court surrogacy Australian nurse clinic charge Tammy Davis-Charles
- Location: PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
- City: PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
- Country: Cambodia
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA00159DZQ6D
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: An Australian nurse, Tammy Davis-Charles, arrived at court in Phnom Penh on Monday (November 21) after being arrested for allegedly operating an illegal fertility clinic, police said, weeks after the country declared a ban on commercial surrogacy.
The 49-year-old allegedly charged foreign couples $50,000 for surrogacy services and paid Cambodian women between $10,000 to $12,000 to carry babies on their behalf, Police Colonel Keo Thea, director of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking bureau, said.
She was detained in the Cambodian capital at the weekend, and charged along with two Cambodian staff, Penh Rithy and Samrithchan Chariya.
Earlier on Monday, Davis-Charles was too ill to attend court along with her employees, and was charged in absentia, Keo Thea said.
Cambodia moved to shut down its booming commercial surrogacy industry, which attracted foreign couples seeking to become biological parents, last month after similar bans in Thailand, India and Nepal.
Keo Thea said that Davis-Charles had moved her business to Cambodia more than a year ago after Thailand closed down its surrogacy clinics in Feb. 2015.
Neighbouring Thailand had previously been a top destination for fertility tourism.
Reuters was unable to reach Davis-Charles for comment.
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Monday that consular assistance was being provided to an Australian woman arrested in Cambodia, without elaborating.
The Australian government has advised its citizens not to visit Cambodia for commercial surrogacy arrangements. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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