THE Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia has urged the Chinese and Cambodian governments to tackle the rising number of vicious crimes involving Chinese citizens in Cambodia.
According to the Khmer Times, the open letter came in response to a wave of crimes involving Chinese nationals in the country, especially around the coastal port city of Sihanoukville and also in the capital Phnom Penh.
Entitled ‘An open letter of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia calling for a fight against vicious crimes involving Chinese citizens in Cambodia’, the strongly worded letter was issued in Chinese, English and Khmer.
The Chamber decried the cases of shooting, kidnapping and extortion involving Chinese citizens in Cambodia related to online gambling and telecommunication fraud groups in the country.
It said the methods of some of the criminals were extremely cruel and crossed the line of human behaviour, and the atrocities made “one boil with anger”.
It added that their acts aroused the strong indignation of other Chinese nationals in Cambodia and in China.
The Chamber said they have caused immeasurable damage to Cambodia’s business environment and seriously affected the confidence of Chinese investors to invest and do business in Cambodia.
It further warned that if the Internet gambling groups were allowed to play the bully and do whatever it wants, Chinese enterprises that intended to develop in Cambodia will not only be deterred, but it will also seriously affect the business prospects and confidence of Chinese companies already operating in Cambodia.
To protect the safety of Chinese Investors and attract more Chinese enterprises to Cambodia for common development, the Chamber strongly urged the governments and relevant departments of China and Cambodia to take effective measures as soon as possible.
It said they should speed up the investigation of cases and severely punish criminals, and root out online gambling and telecommunication fraud groups.
The Times also reports that Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told VOA news last week that Chinese and Cambodian authorities have joined forces to crack down on cross-border crime involving Chinese people in Cambodia by providing and sharing information.
Gen Khieu Sopheak also denied reports that there were local conspirators cooperating with the foreign criminals.
According to data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), between 1994 and 2019 before the Covid pandemic struck, China was the largest source of foreign investment in Cambodia with about 21 per cent of total investments.
Source: New Straits Times
