Woman forced into prostitution overseas returns

A Chinese woman, who was forced to work as a prostitute in South Africa for two years, finally managed to escape her desperate conditions and make her way home, Shanghai's airport frontier inspection authorities said Thursday.

The 30-year-old woman, identified under pseudonym Xiao Li, arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport Thursday, after receiving help from overseas Chinese officials, said local authorities.

"The woman is quite shaken, but relieved to be back," Yang Xiajie, a press officer for the city's airport frontier inspection station, told the Global Times Thursday.

Yang declined to comment further and failed to mention whether an investigation into the case would be opened by authorities.

Xiao Li told authorities that she met a Chinese woman at a bar in Xiamen in 2009, who told her that cleaning jobs in Africa paid well. Xiao Li eventually accepted an offer from her to go to the Republic of Mozambique the following year.

But when she arrived in Mozambique, she and two other Chinese women were tied up and taken to Johannesburg by a gang, who put them in a room that was smaller than five square meters. Their belongings were confiscated and they were forced into prostitution, Xiao Li told authorities.

Xiao Li said that she was severely beaten and suffered knife injuries after she refused the job and tried to leave. She added that she and the other women also repeatedly faced physical abuse from their captors.

After two years of captivity, Xiao Li finally managed to escape while she was supposed to be "working." She ran to a shopping mall to hide and sought help from Chinese authorities, who helped her board a plane to Shanghai, said authorities.

It was unclear Thursday whether the other two Chinese women had received help from overseas authorities.