Cambodian police reported the arrest of eight suspects in an alleged kidnapping and extortion case involving people posing as police officers. The suspects included Chinese and Myanmar nationals.
The incident was reported to have occurred at around 00:30 on May 9, 2026. A 32-year-old Chinese man identified in the report as Mr Tang said three men claiming to be police controlled and unlawfully detained him, and extorted US$12,000 and 81,000 USDT.
According to the report, the suspects subsequently took the victim to the area near Phnom Penh’s former international airport and released him.
Criminal police opened an investigation after receiving the complaint. Officers traced the abandoned vehicle used in the incident and summoned a taxi driver to assist enquiries into the suspects’ movements.
On May 15, national police investigators and Preah Sihanouk provincial police arrested eight suspects in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. The report named the five Chinese suspects as Huang Wenjing, Li Yang, Long Xiaohui, Chen Xiaoqiang and Shao Mingbo, with those names given phonetically. The three Myanmar suspects were identified as YAW BAY NAR, CHIT PO PO and SAI MWAN KHAY.
All eight were transferred to the Criminal Police Department for further questioning. The case remained under investigation, and arrest did not establish a conviction.
The report reminded people living abroad to verify the identity of purported law-enforcement officers, remain calm and preserve evidence where possible if faced with suspected unlawful detention or extortion, and seek help from local police and Chinese diplomatic or consular missions.
