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A friend just contacted me, looking for help. His friend, a Vietnamese national, was offered $1,000 - $1,500 to work in Cambodia. He managed to contact my friend to tell him that his passport had been taken and that they would cross the border at or near Moc Bai, but without officially crossing the border.. Apparently, the job was offered by a Chinese company but je doesn't know much more.

He is worried and not sure what to do. What would you suggest he could do?

Thank you in advance,

Hanno

@hanno If your friend contacts the authorities in Cambodia, his friend will be in trouble for illegal entry, but assuming that is of minor importance, there is a Vietnamese Embassy/consulate in Sihanoukville. Perhaps start there, and see if they can connect with the relevant Cambodian authorities.
If your friend can't get any help that way, try contacting the Anti-Human Trafficking police or whatever they are called in Cambodia and file a missing persons report.

Otherwise, there is the Facebook nuclear option, where you post photos of the missing person with "Have you seen this person? " in Khmer, Vietnamese and Chinese, get it on the local (SHV, Kampot) online news outlets, and make as much noise as possible on social networks. There's a good possibility that someone in authority will react (if only because it makes them look bad), and also the Chinese may release him as too much of a hassle to keep as a worker.

These are only suggestions that come to mind, but I would definitely contact someone in authority, so this guy is officially being sought. IMO the more light on the subject, the less likely it is that he will just "disappear".
This is scary stuff. Hope they find him.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 24, 2021 3:53 pm @hanno If your friend contacts the authorities in Cambodia, his friend will be in trouble for illegal entry, but assuming that is of minor importance, there is a Vietnamese Embassy/consulate in Sihanoukville. Perhaps start there, and see if they can connect with the relevant Cambodian authorities.
If your friend can't get any help that way, try contacting the Anti-Human Trafficking police or whatever they are called in Cambodia and file a missing persons report.

Otherwise, there is the Facebook nuclear option, where you post photos of the missing person with "Have you seen this person? " in Khmer, Vietnamese and Chinese, get it on the local (SHV, Kampot) online news outlets, and make as much noise as possible on social networks. There's a good possibility that someone in authority will react (if only because it makes them look bad), and also the Chinese may release him as too much of a hassle to keep as a worker.

These are only suggestions that come to mind, but I would definitely contact someone in authority, so this guy is officially being sought. IMO the more light on the subject, the less likely it is that he will just "disappear".
This is scary stuff. Hope they find him.

Thank you Anchor Moy, sound suggestions here. I have forwarded them to my buddy. He will contact the consulate first.

OP: If your friend wants to go public, he could also try contacting Husain Haider from the Khmer Times, who has been writing many articles on "the China Project".eg: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50929672/s ... a-project/
Your friend could also contact CEO News to spread the word, with a photo of the missing person and a short explanation to post here, if he thinks that would help.

hanno we tend to read about the same situation that you now wrote and posted about, and knowing its a person, a friend of a friend, obviously your friends and yourself don't want to see or here of any harm coming too your friends friend the Vietnamese national. But then again you haven't mentioned that he has been forced to do such against his will in your post. Alerting the authorities at such a time could land him in trouble and lose him a job that he had intended to do.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 4:00 am hanno we tend to read about the same situation that you now wrote and posted about, and knowing its a person, a friend of a friend, obviously your friends and yourself don't want to see or here of any harm coming too your friends friend the Vietnamese national. But then again you haven't mentioned that he has been forced to do such against his will in your post. Alerting the authorities at such a time could land him in trouble and lose him a job that he had intended to do.

I agree, but the person thought she was going for a well-paid job but got cold feet when the passport was taken from her (and being told they would cross the border illegally), got cold feet and apparently wants out.

hanno wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:52 am

AndyKK wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 4:00 am hanno we tend to read about the same situation that you now wrote and posted about, and knowing its a person, a friend of a friend, obviously your friends and yourself don't want to see or here of any harm coming too your friends friend the Vietnamese national. But then again you haven't mentioned that he has been forced to do such against his will in your post. Alerting the authorities at such a time could land him in trouble and lose him a job that he had intended to do.

I agree, but the person thought she was going for a well-paid job but got cold feet when the passport was taken from her (and being told they would cross the border illegally), got cold feet and apparently wants out.

The warnings seem to be out there, but to some may be overlooked, maybe because they don't believe that others would do such things. I would think quickly about informing the authorities of the situation. Best of luck to you and your friends.

hanno wrote: ↑Wed Nov 24, 2021 3:16 pm A friend just contacted me, looking for help. His friend, a Vietnamese national, was offered $1,000 - $1,500 to work in Cambodia. He managed to contact my friend to tell him that his passport had been taken and that they would cross the border at or near Moc Bai, but without officially crossing the border.. Apparently, the job was offered by a Chinese company but je doesn't know much more.

He is worried and not sure what to do. What would you suggest he could do?

Thank you in advance,

Hanno

Please tell him to run at the earliest possible moment. He needs to get far away from them, before initiating contact with any authorities. I have 2nd hand knowledge of what goes on in the biz.dev side of the China project, and they have deep pockets. His best bet is to run, get a new sim card and DON'T contact cambodian authorities when he's still inside cambodia.

These are the offices I would trust and call, after clearing the Cambodian jurisdiction. Hanoi based offices of the Vietnamese Interpol, Singapore and the French.

Contact person: Fabrizio Panone
200, quai Charles de Gaulle 69006 Lyon FRANCE
Phone number: 0033 4 72 44 57 56
E-mail address: [email protected]

INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation
18 Napier Road 258510 Singapore
Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: +65 6550 3535

If he want's to reach the press, contact May Wong of CNA on her LinkedIn.

I know people who have done the same. Called in from Myanmar, surrendered to the Napier Road fella, in exchange for information.

What ever he does, he should not contact Cambodian, Malaysian, Chinese and South-Vietnamese police forces.

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Wed Nov 24, 2021 5:06 pm OP: If your friend wants to go public, he could also try contacting Husain Haider from the Khmer Times, who has been writing many articles on "the China Project".eg: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50929672/s ... a-project/
Your friend could also contact CEO News to spread the word, with a photo of the missing person and a short explanation to post here, if he thinks that would help.

Husain Haider is impressive. Not sure how he got Mohan to back off from the oversight, but he's on a roll. Got me reading the KHT again...

@hanno This may be of interest to your friend:
post523270.html#p523270

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:59 pm @hanno This may be of interest to your friend:
post523270.html#p523270

Thanks for that, forwarded to my friend.