Woman sentenced after brothel discovered

Police visited the site undercover but did not use the services, the court heard

A woman has been handed a suspended jail term for her involvement in running a brothel.

Shu Choy, 68, pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court in November to one count of conspiracy to corrupt public morals and another of possessing criminal property.

The court heard she owned a property at 64 Upper Orwell Street, Ipswich, and had allowed a man to run the brothel from it, fronted as a Chinese medicine shop.

Choy, of Lorian Close in Barnet, north London, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

The offences were said to have happened between 12 June 2019 and 19 October 2021.

Choy's daughter Mingzi Shi had been charged with the same offences, but after Choy changed her pleas to guilty, prosecutors decided not to offer evidence against the daughter, and she was acquitted.

Choy's guilty pleas came as the trial was set to start and the jury had been sworn in.

She then tried to change her pleas, arguing that she had been pressured into pleading guilty and had been "inadequately advised" by her barrister.

Judge David Wilson rejected her attempts to change her pleas and said he believed she was trying to "manipulate the court process" by securing acquittal for her daughter and then trying to prove her own innocence.

Undercover police

During the trial, prosecutors said Choy played her part in running a "large-scale prostitution business" by taking "rent" money from a man in China.

The court heard police had been observing the business before two undercover officers went in to confirm the services that were being offered, without using them.

The building was searched, and a wall chart showed the names of "young women" who were working there.

Phone records revealed messages that had been sent out advertising services, the court heard.

Documents showed that the average payment was about £120 and would be split evenly between the "masseurs" and the business.

More than £20,000 was said to have been paid into a bank account linked to Choy.

Judge Wilson said Choy "knew full well sexual services were being sold on the premises" and that there was "exploitation of vulnerable individuals".