Rithy Samnang, a businessman known as president of football club Phnom Penh Crown and for links to Sihanoukville properties associated with online scams, died Wednesday morning from illness, according to a statement from his club.
Cambodian authorities were tight-lipped over a raid in a Sihanoukville compound, but it was busy with police work and people gathered in its courtyard last week. Videos emerging amid the operation suggested Vietnamese nationals were waiting for rescue.
Malaysian ambassador Eldeen Hasaini Mohd Hashim discussed the labor issues surrounding online gambling and scam work in Cambodia, the shifting nature of worker recruitment, and diplomatic approaches to addressing the issue amid ongoing citizen rescues.
A leader in a Malaysian political party estimated there are more than 300 of her country’s citizens still trapped inside online scam operations in Cambodia, as recently rescued Malaysian nationals began returning home.
Cross-examinations are complete in one of the country’s mass opposition trials, which is now set for closing arguments in early May, a defense lawyer said. Twelve Malaysian nationals were repatriated from Cambodia after being entrapped in forced-labor compounds and beaten and abused with electric shocks, according to media reports.
Thai police rescued more than 60 people from scam operations in Cambodia during a series of raids this week, though some rescues flopped after alleged bosses found out about the plans, officials announced Tuesday.
Sixteen Malaysian nationals were rescued from forced labor in Preah Sihanouk, as a political party said it knew of dozens more trapped in Cambodia.
“We’ve solved it and now it has completely vanished,” Kheng said of the blood slave story, as well as a second case that surfaced in Thailand.
Preah Sihanouk provincial police are investigating two falls this week from two separate casino and hotel buildings, with a provincial deputy police chief removed last week from his position handling public security.
A Cambodian police official said he would potentially welcome — but disclosed little about — Thai authorities’ reported plan to send officers and a navy ship to Cambodia to remove some 3,000 Thai nationals from online scam operations.
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