The Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labour and torture being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than 50 scamming compounds located across the country, Amnesty International said in a new report published yesterday (26 June).

UN experts have demanded urgent action against large-scale trafficking of persons for forced labour forced criminality in scam compounds in Southeast Asia to protect victims and for countries to step up prevention efforts.

<p>The luring of Thais to work for scam organizations in neighbouring countries has become a regular tragedy in the age of pandemic lockdowns. In the past two years, thousands have been rescued only to become victims of the judicial system, while the traffickers escape free through loopholes.</p>