After a series of scandals, Cambodia attempts to tackle Chinese organized crime which has proliferated on its territory, particularly in the port city of Sihanoukville, where a dozen police raids were carried out between August 18 and October 4. This initial reaction follows the filing of 420 complaints targeting illegal activities, ranging from prostitution to illegal betting, including kidnapping and torture. At least 2,760 foreigners have been checked, the vast majority Chinese from mainland China, half of whom are to be deported for illegal stay in the country. Several people have also been charged. Ill-equipped legally to launch proceedings against foreigners, the Cambodian authorities have long turned a blind eye to online scam operations that have exploded thanks to Covid-19 in the casino sector, and thrive on strong local and national protections.
The desire to regain control is however displayed at the top of the State: “Cambodia must not become a paradise for criminals, a place of money laundering and human trafficking”, launched the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, on September 29. With countless casinos, Sihanoukville has fallen prey to mafias from mainland China, but also from Hong Kong and Taiwan. With the Covid-19, online fraud operations have flourished thanks to the lockdowns and the drop in activity and tourism in Cambodia. In Sihanoukville, members of organized crime have moved into the giant tower complexes originally built to house Chinese people. Two million of them had visited the city in 2019, and at least 180,000 were officially residing there before the health crisis.
Concerned by the number of its nationals established in Sihanoukville and involved in online scams, both as criminals and as victims, China submits visitors to Cambodia to specific checks, in vain. In March, Sar Kheng, the Cambodian Minister of the Interior, revealed on a daily basis Khmer Times that his country had refused, for reasons of “sovereignty”, to an official Chinese request to be granted the right to“independently arrest Chinese who commit crimes in Cambodia without the involvement of local police”.
Abductions and bullying
The kingdom of 17 million people is being urged to act by neighbors including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Nationals of these countries, having thought they were applying for Internet marketing work in Cambodia, found themselves kidnapped and forced to defraud their compatriots on dating sites. These little hands receive manuals explaining how “kill the pig”, according to the Chinese expression, that is to say, to spear a victim before pushing them to shell out money for investments, games, online sex or cryptocurrency purchases. These involuntary accomplices have their passports confiscated and suffer bullying or electric baton blows inflicted by the management, generally Chinese.
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