KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia women have praised an Australian court ruling that convicted an Australian woman and 6 others of forcing young Malaysian women into working as sex workers in order to pay off their debts. “I am very pleased that there is some justice for these young girls who have been tortured and abused,” said one 28-year-old social worker in Kuala Lumpur. “I just think we are needing to look at ourselves and this country now to make sure this doesn't happen again.” Wong Chee Mei, 37, had pleaded not guilty to conducting a business involving the sexual servitude of others and six counts of employing and exploiting non-citizens in breach of their visas. After just one day of deliberating, the jury in the district court trial returned guilty verdicts to all 7 charges. At least 6 students were told that in order to pay off their debts they would be required to work as sex workers in Australia, which has left many in the Southeast Asian country livid and calling on the government to explain how this came to happen. “This is disgusting and we demand the government take full action with Australia in order to ensure that our youth are protected when they travel abroad," 41-year-old psychologist Amina Yussif in Kuala Lumpur told Bikyanews.com in February when the news broke. “We have a sex trade problem already in this country and for this type of acts to be forced on our young women is despicable and scars any relationship we have with Australia," she added. Wong told the women who were held in alleged “sexual servitude" that they had to do it to pay off the debts they incurred in going to Australia, a court heard yesterday. Women's rights advocates have repeatedly told Bikyanews.com over the past few months that police must do more to ensure that women are not being forced into the sex trade or illegal pornographic filming. “We have seen a number of Chinese women forced to make sex films and work as sex workers in the country because the demand continues to rise," social worker Usmanah Mahammad, who works with former sex workers in Kuala Lumpur, told Bikyanews.com. She said that the recent revelation of such “dens" in Ipoh and elsewhere are a sign that paying for sex is on the rise. Police have responded and over the weekend raided on of the dens in Ipoh, where they confirmed to Bikyanews.com scary details of what occurs inside. According to police reports, visitors are able to “choose a girl and have sex with her." BN