Local police in a Chinese local administration have issued a warning that people from the territory involved in illegal work in Cambodia must return immediately or face severe consequences.
The warning added that anyone in the territory who comes to Cambodia without their job offer being reviewed by local authorities would also face punishment.
The public security bureau in Xianyou county, a territory within Fujian province, issued an order on July 14 to all its citizens to leave Cambodia if they had either overstayed their visa or engaged in illegal activities, including money laundering, online gambling, fraud, smuggling and drug trafficking.
The statement said residents’ crimes would not be punished if it were deemed “significantly minor and the harm is small,” but those who don’t return home would face consequences.
“After the announcement was released, for those who do not take the initiative to cooperate with the local government and police, governments at all levels will take disciplinary measures in accordance with the laws and regulations, and cancel the preferential policies, welfare, subsidies and so on,” the statement said.
The statement added there would be rewards for sharing information about illegal activities between Xianyou and Cambodia.
The Xianyou bureau late last year also issued a warning against traveling to nine countries, including Cambodia, unless it was absolutely necessary.
The earlier November statement discouraged Xianyou residents from traveling to Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia. It asked that they provide details of their trip to local authorities at least three days in advance.
The statement warned Xianyou citizens against participating in online gambling or fraud in the nine listed countries, many of which have also been connected to a chat network where trafficked workers appear to be bought and sold. More jurisdictions in Fujian province as well as China’s Guangdong province issued warnings about travel to Cambodia and other countries in December.
In a separate statement issued in May, Anhui province, north of Fujian, warned residents they have until July 31 to turn themselves in if they had participated in cross-border crime. This statement did not specifically mention Cambodia.
Some victims of trafficking at scam compounds and their families have told VOD that they were expected to pay large ransoms in order to be released from these operations.
A Chinese-speaking reporter translated the statements cited in this article, but is not named due to current sensitivities around reporting on organized criminal syndicates involved in trafficking and fraud.
Additional reporting by Danielle Keeton-Olsen
