The Trongsa District Court sentenced, a 37-year-old man Drayang owner in Trongsa, to 18 months in prison for employing a 17-year-old girl as a dancer in his Drayang last year.
The court found the owner, Tshering Dorji from Kuenga Rabten under Draagteng Gewog in Trongsa, guilty of section 221 of the Penal Code of Bhutan, which states, “A defendant shall be guilty of the offence of a child abuse if the defendant subjects a child to an economic exploitation or any job that is likely to be hazardous.”
Similarly, the Regulations on Working Conditions 2012 of Labour Ministry also restricted the employment of children aged between 13 to 17 in discotheques and Drayangs.
The case came into the limelight last year, after the former Kidu officer of Trongsa was suspected of allegedly raping the same girl which is still pending in the Trongsa Court waiting for the forensic result.
Meanwhile, the girl also refused to take the compensation as she confessed to the court that she was employed when she needed help to stand on her own feet.
The Trongsa court passed the judgment on last Friday.
Passang
