Why does sunny Cambodia attract such shady characters?
The alleged assassins of Kim Jong-nam are the latest in a long, storeyed history of criminals and social deviants to have called Phnom Penh home
Claims that two women accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother in Kuala Lumpur rehearsed the hit in Phnom Penh have added another unwanted twist to Cambodia’s long history as a playground for the world’s less savoury characters.
The Cambodia Daily stunned the government when it reported recently that Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 29, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, had met and practised the February 13 assassination of Kim Jong-nam about a dozen times in the Cambodian capital.
The pair, charged in Malaysia with killing the half-brother of Kim Jong-un by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, have claimed they did not know what they were doing – saying instead they thought they were taking part in a prank meant for reality television.
Whatever the outcome of their case, that such a sordid affair should be linked in some way to Cambodia will do little to help efforts to rehabilitate the country from its reputation as an exotic – and sunny – safe haven for criminals, terrorists, child sex offenders, drug addicts and even a prime minister on the run.
The lawlessness that accompanied a 30-year war, porous borders, endemic corruption and an underpaid police force all helped the likes of disgraced rock star Gary Glitter and Hambali (Riduan Isamuddin) – the Islamic militant behind the 2002 Bali bombing – in setting up home here.
