Thai police has revealed details of recently arrested Thai nationals working at scam operations in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and the limited assistance they were getting from their Cambodian counterparts.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Voeun Veasna, a former monk who was involved in forestry activism, to two years in prison for incitement over criticisms he posted on Facebook.
Cambodian migrant workers who have been stranded at home said they are aching for the chance to travel abroad again because the earnings they make here are too small to cover their costs of living.
Forty-nine Thai nationals were sent back to Thailand this week, but a Banteay Meanchey police official said there was no need to investigate if they were trafficked and forced to work.
As accusations of forced labor and confinement at scam operations across Cambodia come to the fore, two Thai nationals spoke to VOD about how they were detained and duped into scamming other people at sites in Poipet and Sihanoukville.
Cambodian monk Bor Bet was released on bail from detention with Thai immigration Friday afternoon and is now at an undisclosed location, a Thai parliamentarian said.
A Thai lawyer assisting detained Cambodian monk Bor Bet said Thai officials had indicated that they would not immediately deport him and that he was still in immigration detention.
Bor Bet urged Thai authorities to respect his refugee status. He asked his supporters to remain resilient and that he had not lost hope.
Human Rights Watch said the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had intervened after Voeung Samnang and Voeun Veasna’s arrests, and both men were registered refugees under UNHCR protection.
Chhay Loeum, a Cambodian migrant, was rounded up by police from Thailand’s Labor Ministry along with seven other workers making an appeal over unpaid wages. Rights advocates say the incident illustrates the Thai government’s broken promises and indifference to one of the most vulnerable groups in Thai society.
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