
The tragic death of a Thai man, Alongkorn Deeying, who plunged from the 14th floor of an 18-storey building in Poipet, Cambodia, again casts the spotlight on the growing problem of call centre scams run by transnational crime syndicates in the Mekong Region.
Despite international pressure and pledges to crack down on the operations, Cambodian authorities struggle to tackle the rampant online scamming led by predominantly Chinese mafia groups.
When Cambodian police raided the notorious trafficking hotspot of Sihanoukville in September 2022, buildings across the city emptied out. Mafia moved their bases to Myawaddy in Myanmar where there is special economic zone largely sponsored by Chinese investors. Despite these efforts, local human rights groups in Cambodia have reported a resurgence of online casinos.
While initial investigations into Alongkorn's death point to suicide, likely driven by mounting pressure to meet scam revenue targets, his plight raises the alarm over the existence of criminal boiler rooms in Sihanoukville and Poipet.
The 18-storey building, alongside a neighbouring 25-storey structure, has long been identified as a nerve centre for call centre scams targeting victims in Thailand and across Southeast Asia. Just last week, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra highlighted these venues, supported by corroborating evidence from Thailand's Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), as a threat.
Sadly, the case of Alongkorn is not isolated one. In August, another Thai man fell to his death from the building, sparking suspicions of foul play. Similarly, in November, an Indonesian woman met the same fate. Repeated deaths in strikingly similar circumstances indicate sinister activities taking place in these buildings, which are reportedly controlled by a Chinese crime boss known as "Xiao Ma".
International and local media have all run reports indicating that foreign criminal groups, particularly Chinese mafia syndicates, brazenly run scam call centres in Sihanoukville and Poipet where numerous high-rise buildings have sprung up suspiciously quickly in recent years.
Despite mounting evidence, Cambodian authorities have yet to dismantle these networks.
A similar situation exists in Myanmar in the area bordering Tak province's Mae Sot district. However, while a casino complex in Myawaddy also serves as a new base for Chinese call centre scam gangs' activities, unlike Cambodia, the western border area is controlled by armed ethnic groups. Enmeshed in civil war, there is little Myanmar's military government can do to tackle the gangs until peace is achieved.
Cambodia and governments in the region must collaborate more to prevent such fraud and rescue its unwilling participants.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must not turn a blind eye, as that would not only facilitate the cross-border scams but also undermine Cambodia's international reputation.
Thailand, too, must play an active role. Corruption and inefficiency within Thai authorities have let trafficking networks get away with luring Thai workers with false promises of legitimate employment, only to find themselves trapped in exploitative conditions, unable to return home.
If Cambodia continues to turn a blind eye and Thailand fails to address corruption within its own borders, the call centre scam industry will persist, leaving a trail of ruined lives and lost livelihoods.