An increasing number of naive young girls from China are being tricked into forced prostitution in Malaysia, according to a local organisation which is regularly called to their rescue.

They are lured to Malaysia by the promise of well-paid jobs in factories and restaurants, says Michael Chong, head of the MCA public service and complaints department.

Syndicates in China place advertisements in newspapers offering salaries of up to RM3,800 a month, he told AFP .

"These girls, who earn about RM380 a month in their home town, as nurses or other steady jobs, of course get excited at the prospect and end up coming here. They are all naive."

When they arrive in Malaysia they are passed o­n to local agents who take away their passports and tell them they have to work as prostitutes to repay their travel expenses of up to RM32,000, Chong said.

Six women from China told the Malay Mail recently of how their nightmare developed from that moment o­n.