The Cambodian government approved a draft law on the 13th, which will impose severe penalties on those engaged in online scam activities.
Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra told AFP that the draft law had been approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Manet, aiming to completely eradicate online scams within Cambodia. He said: “Cambodia is not a paradise or safe haven for criminals.”
The draft law obtained by AFP shows that ringleaders of online scam compounds will face 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 billion riel (about 980,000 ringgit).
If the scam activities are found to involve violence, torture, illegal detention, human trafficking, or forced labor, the prison term will increase to 10 to 20 years, with a fine of up to 2 billion riel.
If online scam activities result in one or more deaths, the scam group leaders will face 15 to 30 years' imprisonment or life imprisonment.
As for lower-level scam offenders, if they commit fraud as part of an organized group and there are many victims, they will face 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 billion riel.
A senior official from Cambodia’s National Committee for Countering Online Scams told AFP this week that Cambodia hopes to close all scam compounds by the end of April.