A woman found guilty of running a brothel in Balzan has been handed a one-year jail term, suspended for three years.
Lin Han, a Ħamrun resident, was originally sentenced to five years imprisonment in 2022, however, a technical hiccup saw the proceedings declared null by an Appeals Court and the case restarted from scratch.
Han ran the Honey Girl Beauty Spa in Balzan, which police say offered clients sexual favours in exchange for cash.
The brothel was raided by police in February 2013. Police had discovered three Chinese women, more than 100 contraceptives and sex toys.
Han had been found guilty of human trafficking and prostitution-related offences.
In hearing the new case against her, magistrate Rachel Montebello ruled the prosecution had not sufficiently proved her complicity in trafficking the Chinese women who offered sexual services at the massage parlour.
On the other charges, the court rule Han was materially involved in the management of the brothel and lived off the earnings of prostitution.
Apart from the suspended sentence, Han was fined €250 and had €24,600 in cash and a BMW X3 confiscated.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri and Adreana Zammit represented Han.