Three trafficking victims were repatriated yesterday from Malaysia and South Africa after being cheated into travelling abroad for work, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said in a statement yesterday that the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia, in cooperation with local authorities, rescued two women – one from Takeo province and one from Phnom Penh – who had been tricked into working there almost one year ago.
The other victim, a man who had been trapped on a fishing boat off of South Africa after having also been duped by a recruitment firm, had been abroad for multiple years. “They all were repatriated to arrive in Cambodia on Tuesday, after they were victimised abroad,” Koung said in the statement.
Chhorn Sokunthea, of rights group Adhoc’s women’s issues section, said that there were still many Cambodians trapped in relative slavery after being lured by false promises, and urged Cambodians not to fall for recruiters’ ploys.
“Please, all women and men, don’t make it easy for the brokers to cheat you,” she said.
