Inmate serving life sentence in Guam brothel case dies

HAGATNA, Guam – Officials say the former owner of a Guam karaoke lounge serving life in prison for running a prostitution operation at the business has died of natural causes.

The Pacific Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1ZDZVix ) 74-year-old Song Ja Cha died at a hospital Monday. Department of Corrections official Carla Borja says Cha was taken to the hospital after telling prison staff she hadn’t been feeling well.

Cha was given a life sentence after being convicted in 2012 of federal crimes related to human trafficking and prostitution.

Authorities say she persuaded women and girls from Chuuk to come to Guam and forced them to work at her lounge, which secretly operated as a brothel.

Cha appealed her conviction in February. Her attorney argued that giving an elderly woman a life sentence was unreasonable.

The former owner of a Guam karaoke lounge serving life in prison for running a prostitution operation at the business has died of natural causes, according to a prison official.

Department of Corrections Deputy Director Carla Borja said Song Ja Cha, 74, had told prison staff she wasn’t feeling well on Monday and she was taken to a hospital. Her condition worsened and she was placed on life support before she was pronounced dead later that day, Borja said.

It is unclear if Cha had pre-existing medical conditions, which could have led to her death, The Pacific Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/1ZDZVix).

Cha was given a life sentence after being convicted in 2012 of federal crimes related to human trafficking and prostitution.

Authorities said she persuaded women and girls from Chuuk to come to Guam by promising them good paying jobs. Once they arrived, she allegedly forced them to work at the Blue House lounge in Tamuning, which secretly operated as a brothel. There were nine victims in the case.

Cha had appealed her federal conviction in February. Her attorney, Jonathan Libby, argued that sentencing an elderly woman to life behind bars was unreasonable.

The prostitution case also led to the convictions of two former Guam police officers, Anthony Quenga and David Manila. They were found guilty in 2013 of several crimes, including kidnapping, rape and promoting prostitution. But some of their convictions were vacated following a December 2015 ruling by the Supreme Court of Guam. They will be resentenced.