By Bernadette H. Carreon
Horizon news staff

Government prosecutors recommended a maximum of 25 years jail term on the two foreigners earlier convicted of people trafficking
Assistant Attorney General Erin Johnson in Republic of Palau’s sentencing brief asked the court to sentence defendant Teng Feng Chiang and Bai Yue Wang to serve 25 years imprisonment , pay a fine of $100,000 and pay restitution to all 10 former employees of Carnival Bar and Restaurant.
The government also asked the court to deport the two foreigners after serving a portion of their sentence.
Chiang and Wang were earlier convicted of several counts of people trafficking with Philippine national Lolita Pamintuan.
People trafficking carry a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment. The government due to Pamintuan’s age has asked the court to send her to jail for two years and pay a fine of $10,000.
The AGO also recommended Pamintuan’s deportation after serving a proportion of her sentence
For defendant Katherine Manio who was found guilty of explotation of a trafficked person, the AGO recommended a jail term of five years, $10,000 fine and deportation after serving a portion of her sentence.
Sentencing is scheduled on May 8.
Johnson in her brief said that because of the severity of the crime , incarceration is requested.
"Defendants have been convicted of a total of 65 counts related to the abuse and exploitation of ten young women. The scene of defendants’ crimes is common one in Palau-the karaoke bar- and the one that is ripe for precisely the type of abuses committed in this case," it said.
"Further , this is a precedent setting case that has caught the attention workers, residents and would be offenders both within the republic and throughout the world. For those reasons, the deterrent effect of incarceration for these defendants cannot be understated," the brief added.
Counsel for Pamintuan Johnson Toribiong and Public Defender Garth Backe meanwhile recommended deportation instead of incarceration for Chiang ,Wang and Pamintuan.
Defense lawyers said that it is in the " interest of the people of the Republic," to deport the defendants after payment of fines because their incarceration is already a drain to the government’s strained resources due to an overcrowded jail.
The sentencing memorandum added that filing an appeal will be costly and that during the trial, there was no evidence that violence was committed against the victims. Chiang, Wang and Pamintuan were found guilty of trafficking 10 former Chinese and Filipino waitresses of Carnival Bar and Restaurant by Associate Justice Kathleen Salii.
Manio, a Philippine national was found guilty of exploiting of a trafficked person.
The three are the first to be convicted of people trafficking in this country .
The four were also found guilty of advancing prostitution, while Chiang, Wang and Manio were convicted of exploiting a trafficked person and violation of the labor laws.
Chiang and Wang were found guilty of 10 counts of people trafficking each while Pamintuan was convicted of seven counts of people trafficking.