TAIPEI/BANGKOK 每 The mother of a Thai girl believed to have been forced into sex work at a massage parlor in Tokyo has been detained in Taiwan, sources have said.

According to Taiwan＊s immigration authorities, the mother arrived in September and has exceeded the permitted stay. Local police detained her in a separate case and handed her over to the immigration department.

The authorities plan to deport the mother but have not decided whether to send her to Thailand or Japan, where the case of the Thai girl is being investigated.

On Friday, Thailand＊s national police chief, Kitrat Phanphet, said that he had ordered an investigation into any organizations or individuals involved in the case. He also issued instructions to coordinate the girl＊s return home.

Meanwhile, a Thai government source told local media that completing the investigation in Japan is likely necessary for the girl＊s return.

Japanese police earlier arrested a man for allegedly having the 12-year-old girl work at his massage shop in Tokyo, in a suspected human trafficking case involving sexual exploitation of a child.

The man, Masayuki Hosono, 51, was arrested by Tokyo＊s Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of employing a girl age 15 years or younger at his massage shop in the capital between June and July in violation of the labor standards law.

The girl was born in northern Thailand and used to live with her younger sister and grandparents, according to the police. The girl and her mother arrived at Hosono＊s shop on the same day when they arrived in Japan in late June.

But the mother disappeared the day after the arrival. Then, the girl, who cannot speak Japanese, slept near the shop＊s kitchen and provided sexual services for customers at the shop.

The case came to light when the girl sought help from the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in September.