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A bridge connects two separate sections of the Thmor Da SEZ. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

Sar Kheng Attacks Police Excuses in Scam Trafficking

The dusty road outside tycoon Try Pheap’s Thmor Da SEZ in Pursat is empty. But behind locked metal gates, its shabby buildings appear full of inhabitants. Interior Minister Sar Kheng this week called out police excuses in their crackdown on scam compounds, urging vigilance.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng attends a high school opening in Battambang on November 2, 2022. (Sar Kheng's Facebook page)

Sar Kheng Acknowledges Fraud Problem

Interior Minister Sar Kheng acknowledged that the syndicates trafficking workers into Cambodia also appear to be conducting fraud, alluding to operations that have been revealed for months in media reports.

Workers remove barbed wire from a Sihanoukville compound in September 2022. (Mech Dara/VOD)

Scam Raids Hit 10 Provinces: Interior Minister

Interior Minister Sar Kheng acknowledged the buying and selling of foreign workers, plus violence and forced labor, at Cambodian compounds after police responded to 600 calls for help across at least 10 provinces.

A screenshot from an unverified video on TikTok showing people pelting stones at a bus in Bavet.

Chaotic Scenes in Bavet Amid Apparent Exodus

Foreign workers threw rocks at buses as passengers tried to break out of them, according to police, as locals spoke of hundreds daily leaving alleged scam compounds in Svay Rieng’s border city of Bavet.