Responding to a media question on whether the Al Jazeera report on the Long Bay case in Koh Kong province will affect Cambodia's image and its crackdown efforts, Senior Minister in charge of special missions, Permanent Vice-Chairman and Head of the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS) Chhay Sinarith made clear that Cambodia has never denied the existence of online scam crimes within its borders. What matters, he said, is that Cambodia is a country that actively takes concrete action to crack down on such crimes and will never let up. The Royal Government of Cambodia has consistently adopted responsible legal measures to eradicate these crimes.
The Senior Minister further stressed that the results the government has continued to achieve over the past year or more have been an important factor in pushing ministries, institutions and authorities across all provinces and cities to carry out their duties more forcefully and rigorously. Cambodia will continue its full effort to root out online scams and resolutely prevent them from resurging.
He noted that the Cambodian government has taken tough and highly responsible measures to comprehensively sweep up and dismantle the bases and operating centers of online scam criminal groups. Law enforcement agencies are also actively conducting investigations to track down and arrest the masterminds and all those involved, ensuring legal punishment with no leniency.
Addressing the Al Jazeera video report, Chhay Sinarith said the activities shown in the report took place only before the Cambodian authorities launched large-scale sweeps. Therefore, the report actually makes clear that Cambodia has now achieved tangible results in cracking down on and clearing out online scam criminal groups at these locations.
Looking ahead, the Senior Minister stressed that Cambodia will further strengthen cooperation with countries and international organizations to jointly stop and prevent cross-border technology crimes, and ensure that such crimes do not return to or resettle within Cambodia.