Preah Sihanouk authorities have begun collecting data on the number of Chinese nationals living and working in the area in order to properly manage conditions in the province, the governor said on Thursday.

Yun Min said immigration police and the labour department are collecting data from factories and other commercial operations in order to fill out the list.

“We have not yet received a primary report about the number [of Chinese] working groups,” he said.

However, Preah Sihanouk provincial labour department head, Yov Khemara, said there were 16,342 Chinese citizens who had work permits.

That number topped the list of expatriates working in the province.

He also said there were 1,516 Indonesians, 448 Thais, 316 Malaysians, 224 Burmese, 178 Filipinos, 83 Taiwanese, 80 South Koreans, 67 Russians and 63 Vietnamese working in the province.

Chinese immigrants have commanded the spotlight as of late, with many saying they are to blame for the growing crime rate.