SA tourist among people trapped by Covid-19 and then held captive by Chinese gangs to run online scams
General view of the city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/SOPA IMAGES/SALLY HAYDEN
Those who objected or performed poorly were subjected to violence and threats, victims said. Mary, a teacher from the Philippines, said she miscarried while locked in a room without food and water for three days. Cambodian police have previously carried out raids and deported hundreds of Chinese on suspicion of telecoms scams. But organised crime experts said the police have struggled to stamp out online crime because of corruption and weak law enforcement.
For more than a decade, Chinese criminal groups have used Cambodia as a base for online scams that duped Chinese nationals out of billions of dollars. Crime experts said the pandemic has made it easier for these groups to target stranded foreigners. More than 80 casinos have been built in the city, largely for foreign tourists and online punters as it is illegal for Cambodians to gamble.
“Instead of addressing only the symptoms by focusing on individual cases, full implementation of online gambling prohibition can stem the problem from its root.”Inside a heavily guarded compound in Sihanoukville, Mary said she handed her passport to human resources and was given the tools for her new job: five iPhones and five British SIM cards.
Beijing has sent police and planes to Cambodia to take home hundreds of suspected Chinese scammers in recent years, sending a “very heavy and very public ... message to its citizens” about the risks of engaging in crime, said a foreign law enforcement official monitoring the situation. When the woman told management she wanted to leave, she was locked in a room with Mary and given two options: pay $2,000 or be sold to another company, she said.
“Many have lost their jobs and they’re very easy to access, very easy to scam,” said Tharo of labour nonprofit Central.
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