Taiwan charges 9 suspects over human trafficking scams in Cambodia
- Prosecutors say accused preyed on jobless youth and forced them to work for telecom and online fraud rings
- Some victims were beaten or held for ransom if they did not obey, prosecutors allege
Taiwanese prosecutors have charged nine suspects for allegedly luring 88 people to Cambodia to work unpaid in online scam syndicates that have become a regional scourge.
Victims have reported travelling to Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos on false promises of romance or high-paying jobs.
Those charged in Taiwan on Friday include the heads of two human smuggling rings that ran job adverts on social media with promises of “high salaries and easy loans”, according to the Taipei district prosecutors’ office.
Prosecutors said the ads tricked jobless young people and those with financial difficulties into going to Cambodia. Once there, they were handed over to telecom and online fraud rings that forced them to work.
Some were beaten and hit with electric shocks or held for ransom if they refused to obey orders or performed poorly, according to the prosecutors.
“The defendants committed crimes with no regard for lives that severely violated human rights ... and seriously damaged our country’s international image,” the prosecutors said.