Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Say Samal firmly urged Preah Sihanouk authorities to crack down on online fraud and expressed hope that the province would no longer face it, so its international reputation would not be damaged.
At Saturday morning's closing of the provincial conference reviewing 2025 work and setting 2026 directions, he said: “If we are not decisive about online scams, our reputation will be damaged worldwide and others will use this as a pretext to restrain us.” He said that even Thailand had used claims that Cambodia hosted online scams as a pretext for attacks on Cambodia. In his account, Cambodia was suffering the effects of hostile reporting, and unless it cleaned itself up, others would use the issue as a pretext to cause turmoil.
He described Preah Sihanouk residents as enduring an unparalleled cycle of hardship, explaining that the province was being portrayed negatively as a base for online fraud. This damaged Cambodia's name and could bring future disaster. He nevertheless stressed that the problem was gradually being addressed and hoped it would end so the province would no longer face it.
As of December 18, 2025, Cambodia had detained nearly 5000 foreigners suspected of online-fraud involvement. Of these suspects,168 were alleged ringleaders or accomplices in 35 major cases and had been referred to court, according to the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Technology-Related Fraud.
Some foreign parties and international organisations had accused Cambodia of involvement in online fraud and of pursuing only minor offences and low-level criminals. In contrast, the commission's secretariat said meetings with international partners and UNODC's Southeast Asia and Pacific office had brought praise for Cambodia's clear willingness and strong commitment to clearing and preventing technology-related fraud, contributing to global efforts.
By: Nget Pisant.
