A third woman involved in the Chinese massage parlour case today told a court that she never gave any ‘extras’ to clients and that she was never forced to do so by her employers.

The woman, a Chinese national, was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Winston Gera, 45, and his Chinese partner Zhang Tianxia, 35, from St Julian’s, who face human trafficking charges.

Her testimony contrasts with that given by two other women before her, who said they had been forced into prostitution.

Speaking via video conferencing, the woman, who is a qualified masseuse, said she had paid some €6,500 to an agency to come work in Malta. She said part of the sum was meant to be given to her future employer but she could not be sure whether the money had reached Gera.

When she arrived in August she was met at the airport by Gera and his girlfriend and was later taken to the massage shop in Hamrun. She spent most of her days there, paying €150 a month in rent. The premises had no bedroom, no kitchen and no shower. It lacked ventilation and air conditioning. The woman said she slept on a small sofa.

Initially she would only eat bread she would buy during her short breaks but she was eventually given a hotplate and a frying pan.

She would work from 10am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.

The witness said she had to inform her employers if she went out for more than 30 minutes.

She would have up to eight clients a day. These were charged €25 for a massage, and the woman would keep €5 for herself. When she complained and threatened to leave she was allowed to keep €10.

Asked if she had ever given any sexual services, the woman insisted she never had.

There were clients who had requested extras but she always refused. Her employers never pressured her to give anything more than a massage, she said.

The witness said she was once made to pay €500 to get her passport back from the accused. On another occasion she was made to pay €491 for a blood test she had to do and for insurance.

Whenever there was an argument, the accused would threaten to cancel her visa and send her back home.

Asked why she had never gone to the police before and had only spoken up after a colleague filed a report, the woman said she had been unsure of how things worked in Malta.

The woman burst into tears when she saw the accused couple on a monitor.

At the end of the sitting the defence made a request for bail. Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech was told that the main civilian witnesses had testified and Gera had strong family ties in Malta.

The request was rejected, with the court pointing to the fact that some civilian witnesses still needed to testify and there was no extradition treaty with China.

Inspectors John Spiteri and Joseph Busuttil are prosecuting.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Yanika Vidal are appearing for the accused. Lawyers Lara Dimitrijevic and Stephanie Caruana are appearing parte civile.