VANCOUVER (Sun Media) - A judge has dismissed human trafficking charges against a man who ran an East Vancouver massage parlour.

But Michael Ng, the first person to be charged with human trafficking under Canadian law, was found guilty of lesser prostitution-related charges.

It was a decision that came after a year of intermittent but often emotional testimony, in a case that centred on the evidence of two women.

The women claimed Ng lured them to Canada with the promise of jobs as waitresses. Instead, they were put to work in his Kingsway massage parlour.

But B.C. Provincial Court Judge Malcolm MacLean yesterday ruled one woman's evidence was "not sufficiently credible," while the other woman, her sister-in-law, gave conflicting evidence in her testimony.

"Considering the evidence as a whole, the Crown has not proven this offence beyond a reasonable doubt," MacLean wrote in his decision on the trafficking charges.

However, Ng was found guilty of running a common bawdy house at his Kingsway massage parlour and other prostitution related charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

In all, MacLean found Ng guilty of five of the total 22 charges he faced.

Ng left court yesterday brushing past reporters into a waiting minivan, trying to shield his face with his jacket's hood.

His lawyer, Michael Klein, said the judge's ruling didn't surprise him.

"There were clear problems with the evidence of both of the witnesses," Klein said.

Ng, who had an interpreter translate the ruling for him yesterday, is back in court in October for sentencing.