TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Suspects found guilty of attempting to traffic people younger than 18 will be subject to a prison term of up to seven years, according to an amendment passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday (May 19).

The changes were the result of several cases over the past year involving Taiwanese being lured to work in Cambodia, where they were forced to participate in schemes to commit electronic fraud. Hundreds of citizens from various countries were freed from Cambodian “scam parks,” where fraud rings operate on a vast scale.

The Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act setting five years in prison as the maximum penalty for trying to force adults to participate in scams, with seven years if the victims are younger than 18, Radio Taiwan International reported. Foreign victims would be offered one year of legal residency in the hope they cooperated with the investigation and testify against the criminals.

Lawmakers expressed the hope the new legislation would help put a stop to frequent cases of human trafficking, and protect the human rights of vulnerable members of society.