^^
The Viets are obviously better swimmers it seems.. and no doubt the locals were happy to see them go home..

Read in a US News source more about how Taiwan and Cambodia are trying to fix the situation.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/governme ... -scammers/

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia on Friday said it is attempting to aid foreigners who have been victimized by human traffickers, after Taiwan said it is seeking to free more than 300 of its citizens who were lured to the Southeast Asian nation by organized crime groups.

The mostly well-educated young people were promised high wages for tech jobs, but then were forced to work in call centers, scamming mainly mainland Chinese into making payments for non-existent government fees or investment opportunities.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng said his ministry is launching a nationwide check of all foreigners living in Cambodia, aside from embassy personnel. He said it will search especially for foreigners who have been victimized by human traffickers.

He said police in two provinces, Kandal and Preah Sihanoukville, on Thursday checked the status of foreigners residing or working at hotels, rented properties and casinos.

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Sar Kheng said several people were arrested on suspicion of organizing human trafficking and some apparent victims were taken into protection. Police were still trying to determine whether those who said they were victims were telling the truth, he said.

Sar Kheng did not specify how many people were rounded up or what their nationalities were, but confirmed that some foreigners told police that they had been attracted by what was portrayed as lawful jobs offering high salaries.

Upon arriving in Cambodia, however, they were forced to work illegally in jobs that were “not what they had agreed to,” Sar Kheng said.

Separately, Deputy National Police chief Gen. Chhay Sinarith said in recent years Cambodian authorities have uncovered numerous illegal online schemes that lured illegal workers, and have arrested hundreds of people from China and Taiwan for involvement.

Scammers, mainly from China, have used Cambodia as a base for extorting money, Chhay Sinarith said.

Taiwan’s government on Friday said 333 of its citizens were stuck in Cambodia after being lured by crime groups promising high wages for tech jobs, based on reports from families asking for help. The situation is complicated further because Cambodia is a close ally of China and refuses to recognize Taiwan or have any official contacts with the government in Taipei.

Taiwanese media have been reporting extensively on the plight of those trapped by the networks. Police at Taiwan’s main Taoyuan International Airport have been patrolling with signs warning of the dangers of bogus offers of high salaries in Southeast Asia.

Taiwanese authorities have also been reaching out to travel agencies to uncover the scams, and more than a dozen people have been arrested over recruitment schemes that aimed to dupe young people into jobs advertised as high-paying positions in computer engineering and similar fields.

Read more: Government News

It has also become a political issue, with the minority Nationalist Party accusing the governing Democratic Progressive Party of inaction on the matter. Premier Su Tseng-chang has called for diplomatic outreach and a crackdown on local criminal groups organizing the scams.

Taiwan works with FBI to prevent human trafficking to Cambodia
Authorities hand over 12 Taiwanese, including 4 suspects
By Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2022/08/19 14:07
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States and with Thailand to stop human trafficking to Cambodia and bring the victims home, the country’s police chief said Friday (Aug. 19).

The government said Thursday (Aug. 18) that 40 Taiwanese victims of human trafficking had returned home from Cambodia, but 333 still needed to be rescued.

A total of 4,679 Taiwanese citizens were believed to be staying in the Southeast Asian country, but the review to determine how many were victims of fraud rings was still continuing, National Police Agency (NPA) chief Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) said Friday.

In the latest example of international cooperation, the Thai authorities detained 12 Taiwanese who had entered the country from Cambodia and handed them over to Taiwan. Following an investigation, eight of the group turned out to be victims of scammers, while the other four were suspected members of a fraud ring, CNA reported.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4631559

Why are so many Taiwanese being recruited by Chinese criminal gangs in Cambodia ?

Recently, because of the "zero covid" policy, it is increasingly difficult for criminal gangs to recruit "personnel" from mainland China, so they have turned to Taiwan and to a lesser extent Malaysia. According to Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, at least 200 Taiwanese are trapped in Cambodia or Myanmar. Online ads urge people to travel to Cambodia where with a fee up to 20 thousand U.S. dollars can be earned. Statistics show that indeed in the first part of the year there was a record number of transfers from Taiwan to Cambodia.

However, in the absence of diplomatic ties, it is almost impossible in Taiwan to recover trafficking victims. Authorities are forced to turn to prominent Taiwanese businessmen or Cambodian police, but the latter are often colluded with criminal gangs. Victims' families also turn to the Taiwanese mafia to pay ransoms. Taiwanese police have stepped up patrols at Taoyuan International Airport, where there are flights to Cambodia, to persuade potential victims not to board.

Cambodia denies systematic human trafficking and admits only "labor disputes," but even today a video is circulating online in which 40 Vietnamese who escaped from a Cambodian casino are trying to swim back to their country.
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Casino- ... 56482.html

The dramatic story behind the "Great Escape" by Vietnamese workers, who were tricked into working for Chinese criminals in a Cambodian casino:

Exploitation, misery drove Vietnamese workers to flee hellish Cambodian casinos
By Ngoc Tai August 19, 2022 | 08:31 pm PT
Whenever she closes her eyes, Doan Thi Ngoc Diep sees water and hear the sounds of batons banging on people.

Diep is among a group of 40 Vietnamese who swam across a river from Cambodia to Vietnam on Thursday morning to escape from a casino where they were tricked into working and which they described as "hell."

There were 42 escapees, but one was caught by the casino guards and another is missing.

"None of us could sleep last night, it was too traumatizing," Diep, 20, told VnExpress Friday.

She and her husband are staying with the rest at a communal house in An Giang Province in southern Vietnam after fleeing the casino in Cambodia's Kandal Province.

The casino, managed by Chinese nationals, stands along the Binh Di River, a natural border that is around 70 meters wide during the rainy season between Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese had planned the escape over two nights, making their move in the morning when the casino’s gates are open and there are only seven or eight managers on duty.

Diep said after working for an hour, at around 10 a.m., the group ran toward the doors. Strong young men were in front to attack the guards and create an opening for the women to escape.

Another group of young men were at the back, throwing Molotov cocktails at the guards.

The guards were taken by surprise at first, but it took just a minute for "muscular" men to show up with iron rods and chase after the Vietnamese, who were "running for our lives."

One of them was caught while the rest jumped into the river. Some of them do not know swimming but jumped in anyway, and were helped by the others to reach the other side.

They managed to reach the Long Binh border guard station unscathed and were then transferred to the communal house where they have received care and will be questioned by the police.
Full article: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/explo ... 01827.html

Arrest Made at Golden Phoenix Entertainment Casino

Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On 19 August 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sar Kheng, confirmed, while presiding over a NEC meeting, that there the chief person in connection with the incident at the Golden Phoenix Entertainment Casino on the border of Chrey Thom has been arrested.
In connection with the arrest, Major General Chhoeun Socheat, Kandal Provincial Police Commissioner, told Fresh News that the chief person in this incident who was arrested was a Chinese national.

According to the DPM, while searching the premises authorities detained a Vietnamese employee without a specific residence permit in Cambodia. It was therefore concluded by the authorities that about 40 employees at the casino [who escaped] were Vietnamese who came to work in Cambodia illegally.

A video clip surfaced on 18 August 2022, showing a clash between the employees and security guards of Golden Phoenix Entertainment Casino, Chrey Thom Commune, Koh Thom District, Kandal Province. In the video, a group of people were seen running from inside the casino and jumping into the river trying to swim across to Vietnam.
Major General Chhoeun Socheat, Kandal Provincial Police Commissioner, confirmed that the although the incident was not violent, the Vietnamese staff seemed to have planned to gather at the casino gate to escape and clash with three security guards, injuring them.

Chinese Embassy in Cambodia tells ‘Taiwan compatriots’ in difficulty to contact them after reports of people ‘trapped’ in fraud, violence
By Global Times
Published: Aug 21, 2022 03:02 PM

"Taiwan compatriots are Chinese citizens, so if you have any difficulties, please contact the embassy," Chinese Embassy in Cambodia told the Taiwan compatriots after some of them were reportedly forced to join online gambling, telecommunications fraud and other illegal activities and have been subjected to movement restriction in Cambodia.

In a statement issued on Saturday night, the embassy said they will provide timely and efficient consular protection services to all Chinese citizens in Cambodia, including Taiwan compatriots, noting that safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots is the duty of China's diplomatic missions abroad.

In Cambodia, "we have always paid equal attention to Chinese citizens from Taiwan province," whether in the COVID-19 vaccination program that the Chinese government launched for overseas Chinese citizens or to rescue those who are in difficulty, said the embassy.

According to Taiwan media reports, some Taiwan people who went to Cambodia for job opportunities were employed in jobs which apparently did not commensurate with their pay, and some were subjected to violence, including imprisonment, beatings, abuse and even sexual assault.
More than 8,600 Taiwan people went to Cambodia from January to July, only 5,000 returned to the island, with about 3,000 people still stranded there, reports said.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1273466.shtml