Amnesty International Says Cambodia's Crackdown on Scam Centers Ineffective, Dozens Still Operating

(Central News Agency, Phnom Penh, 8th, Combined Foreign Reports) Amnesty International released a report today criticizing that despite months of crackdowns by Cambodian authorities on transnational scam compounds within its borders, only 24 of the 86 known compounds have been closed by the government, with dozens of suspected scam centers still in operation.

According to Reuters, the UK-based Amnesty International, in its 176-page report, criticized that many of the Cambodian government's crackdowns were often passive or ineffective, or their impact was weakened due to apparent collusion between scam compound managers and the police. For example, escapees said they were moved around Cambodia to avoid detection during the crackdowns.

Amnesty International said in the report that its researchers interviewed 73 people who had been forcibly held in Cambodian scam compounds, all of whom said they had experienced or witnessed abuse, including six women who said they were sexually assaulted.

Amnesty International also accused Cambodian authorities of treating people who escaped or were released from scam compounds as illegal immigrants rather than as victims of human trafficking.

The report concluded that Cambodia's crackdown on scam compounds has failed in two key aspects: the investigation and closure of some of the most notorious compounds, and the provision of protection and assistance to victims who escaped or were taken from the compounds.

However, the Cambodian government issued a statement refuting Amnesty International. Chhay Sinarith, a Cambodian国务部长 (Secretary of State) in charge of combating online fraud, called the report "selective, one-sided, and lacking a full understanding of the situation on the ground."

According to him, Cambodia has revoked the business licenses of 25 casinos suspected of involvement in fraud, prosecuted nearly 1,500 suspects from 19 countries, deported nearly 19,000 foreigners, and approximately 290,000 related foreign nationals have voluntarily left the country.

In its statement, the Cambodian government said that cracking down on scam centers is difficult because the related criminal networks are cross-border, highly adaptable, and meticulously organized to evade law enforcement.