AKP Phnom Penh, February 11, 2025 --

The deputy spokesperson at Cambodia's Ministry of Interior has expressed his dismay and questioned a single-sourced report by a foreign cyber scam victim rescued by Cambodia.

According to the deputy spokesperson, H.E. Dr. Touch Sokhak, after being rescued, the victim, a 31-year-old Malaysian man called Jimmy, did not provide any information to help the Cambodian authority to investigate and identify the perpetrators who kidnapped him.

However, the man gave an interview to an international media outlet, China Press, saying that in July last year one of his friends paid for his flight ticket and promised to find him a job in Cambodia.

Jimmy told the China Press that in Cambodia, the friend tricked him into an online scam business where he was forced to deceive others to make at least US$13,500 per month before allowing him access to a mobile phone.

Jimmy claimed that he did not comply, so he ended up being beaten, starved, and forced to eat pork and rat meat.

H.E. Dr. Touch Sokhak regretted that the interview with Jimmy was published without any factual basis and proper fact-checking, leading to damaging Cambodia's reputation despite its relentless efforts to crack down on the dirty scam business and rescue victims.

Despite no cooperation from Jimmy, continued the deputy spokesperson, Cambodia's pertinent authority is thoroughly investigating the case not only to crack down on the scam but also to prove if the claim by Jimmy is true.

By Thyda You