September 26, 2022
HONG KONG – Eight Chinese remained missing by Sunday from a boat sunk near a Cambodia island last Thursday, according to local officials. Experts call for closer cooperation in cross-border law enforcement.
The boat was said to be carrying 41 Chinese and two Cambodian crew members. Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief General Chuon Narin told local media that the passengers had set off from China’s Guangdong province on Sept 11 on a speedboat and had been transferred to the fishing boat Sept 17 in international waters
Three Chinese were confirmed dead by Cambodian authorities, who said 21 people were rescued on Friday and nine on Saturday after the small wooden fishing vessel sank near Koh Tang, a Cambodian island close to the maritime border with Vietnam.
The boat was said to be carrying 41 Chinese and two Cambodian crew members. Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief General Chuon Narin told local media that the passengers had set off from China’s Guangdong province on Sept 11 on a speedboat and had been transferred to the fishing boat Sept 17 in international waters.
A spokesperson of Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk province, Kheang Phearom, said on Saturday by social media that nine more people were found alive and three bodies were recovered, leaving eight people still missing.
Governor of the province Kuoch Chamroeun has visited some rescued Chinese being treated in hospital, according to the spokesperson.
Some survivors revealed that they had been told of expectations different from what turned out.
Chinese diplomats in Cambodia have been working intensively to offer help but the tragedy causes are yet to be found out.
Analyats point out that regional collaboration and stronger legislation are needed to combat illicit operations such as the Southeast Asia job scams and forced labor.
Several economies have recently reported of victims getting lured to countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand with promises of high-paying jobs often at casinos and hotels. But instead of being employed, these victims were forced to live in compounds and scam online customers with internet romances and cryptocurrency schemes.
While many people are trafficked into forced prostitution and forced labor, having people trafficked to carry out scams is something that is only now surfacing. For the first time, young, educated Asians are being tricked and deceived into scam centers that are highly exploitative and very violent.
Matt Friedman, founder of Hong Kong-based non-profit organization The Mekong Club
Matt Friedman, founder of Hong Kong-based non-profit organization The Mekong Club, said the job scam is “a new form of human trafficking that has not been seen in Southeast and East Asia”.
“While many people are trafficked into forced prostitution and forced labor, having people trafficked to carry out scams is something that is only now surfacing. For the first time, young, educated Asians are being tricked and deceived into scam centers that are highly exploitative and very violent,” he said.
Friedman said countries need to urgently come together immediately to help the victims and to put in place safeguards against these scams.
“This change needs to happen now,” he said, noting that several actions can be enforced as soon as possible such as conducting public awareness campaigns, bilateral initiatives between law enforcement across borders, coordinated raids and rescues, and repatriation and rehabilitation.
Mustafa Izzuddin, a visiting professor at the international relations department of Islamic University of Indonesia in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, said human trafficking is an “existential problem which requires a fresher approach”.
Mustafa said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) already has interconnected web of bilateral linkages as cross-border security cooperation already exists to fight human trafficking. But he said that the regional bloc can do more to highlight the issue of human trafficking.
A security person stands outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Oct 25, 2021. (ACHMAD IBRAHIM / AP)
He said countries need put in place robust legislations with heavy penalties to deter trafficking, increase cross-border security cooperation and educate people on human trafficking.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in Sept 21 that 301 people have fallen prey to job offer scam syndicates in four countries. Of this number, as many as 168 victims have been successfully rescued. Malaysian Embassies in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are intensifying efforts to detect, rescue and bring back Malaysian citizens.
Vietnam said on Sept 22 it has worked with Cambodia to save over 1,000 Vietnamese nationals who have been scammed into illegal labor in Cambodia. Thousands of others have received legal support.
The Cambodian government said they have been making strong efforts to end the problem of scamming activities. Between August 18 and Sept 18, the Interior Ministry received 289 complaints regarding possible trafficking victims or requests for help from foreign nationals
The Indonesian Embassy in Manila said in Aug 31 that it evacuated 10 Indonesian citizens from companies suspected of carrying out scamming activities in the Philippines.
The Cambodian government said they have been making strong efforts to end the problem. Between August 18 and Sept 18, the Interior Ministry received 289 complaints regarding possible trafficking victims or requests for help from foreign nationals.
During the one-month period to Sept 10, a total of 85 cases were investigated, with 176 apparent victims of 8 nationals found. Preah Sihanouk province was the location of most of the cases, with the majority of victims working for illegal online gambling businesses, according to local broadsheet The Phnom Penh Post.
Cambodia has geared up efforts to handle its rather dire human trafficking situation, according to Ou Virak, founder of Future Forum, a public policy think tank based in Phnom Penh.
Ou said Cambodia was selected by some criminal rings possibly because they have located law enforcement loopholes.
Ou said the best solution should have been preventing those syndicates from establishing their roots in Cambodia.
He said Cambodia can work with other countries and “we have to be more forceful in ensuring that there is no safe haven for these criminals”. Ou added that there should be more investigation and more accountability.
“We also need to dig deeper and ask a question – how on earth we allow this to happen and how on earth a country like us accept such things to happen at such a scale for so long?” he said.