Cambodia repatriates 12 exploited Vietnamese workers

Deputy spokesman of the foreign ministry, Doan Khac Viet, did not reveal further details of the repatriation at a press meet.

Viet was responding to queries about citizen protection measures for Vietnamese workers tricked into becoming illegal workers in Cambodia.

He said Vietnam has cooperated with Cambodia to bring back over 600 people safely.

In another press meet late last month, the foreign affairs ministry had said Cambodia had completed repatriation procedures for 25 Vietnamese trafficked workers, including 11 rescued from a casino in Kandal Province that made the news last month, when 42 of them escaped and 40 made it to Vietnam by swimming across a river.

Cambodian authorities are also ramping up efforts to stamp out human trafficking in the country, Viet said, adding that victims were often enticed by promises of easy jobs with high pay.

Thousands of Vietnamese might have been trafficked to Cambodia to be exploited, forced to work in harsh conditions for meager compensation, Vietnamese authorities have said earlier, adding that rescuing them would be a difficult task.

Sar Kheng, Cambodia’s Minister of the Interior, said late last month that Cambodian authorities have verified 87 human trafficking cases since the beginning of this year until August 20, 17 of which have been taken to court. Kheng said 865 human trafficking victims have been rescued by Cambodian authorities since the beginning of this year.