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Diplomatic rift mounting between Cambodia and SG over PM Lee’s remark on FB

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It has been reported that the Cambodia’s Defence Minister General Tea Banh and Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) legislator Hun Many have both openly rebutted PM Lee Hsien Loong for his remarks regarding the “invasion” of Cambodia by the Vietnamese military in its bid to oust the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

Between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia was ruled under the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot, which carried out the Cambodian genocide leading to the deaths of 1.5 to 3 million people or around 25% of Cambodia’s population.

General Banh said that he has made a request to his Singaporean counterpart, Ng Eng Hen, to notify PM Lee to amend his statement earlier, as the pm’s remark “was not true and not reflective of the history [of the event]”.

“We cannot accept what he said. We have already clarified that Vietnamese volunteer troops came to liberate our people. We still consider that they came to save our people’s lives. It has been enormously meaningful for us,” General Banh said.

“It is not true at all because he (PM Lee) said that Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia. We want him to make a correction.”

Apparently, General Banh raised the issue with Dr Ng at the 18th Asia Security Summit’s IISS Shangri-La Dialogue 2019 in Singapore last weekend.

All started with PM Lee’s Facebook posting

The rout appears to have started last Friday (31 May) when PM Lee talked about his letter to Thailand on Facebook, expressing his condolences on the passing of former Thai PM and President of the Privy Council, General Prem Tinsulanonda.

PM Lee wrote, “His (Gen Prem’s) leadership also benefited the region. His time as PM coincided with the ASEAN members (then five of us) coming together to oppose Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia and the Cambodian government that replaced the Khmer Rouge.”

On Mon (3 Jun), Cambodia’s main English paper, The Khmer Times, hit back at PM Lee with an article, (‘Lee Hsien Loong Disrespectful of Khmer Rouge victims‘).

“What is striking is his view in denouncing the regime change that toppled the Khmer Rouge and denying legitimacy of the new Cambodian government that saved lives of the remaining four million Cambodians with support from the Vietnamese forces,” Khmer Times wrote.

“This is nothing but being disrespectful to the Khmer Rouge victims and those who sacrificed their lives in deposing the genocidal regime of Khmer Rouge.”

Khmer Times further accused the Singaporean leadership, “To put the fact straight, not only that Singapore has never denounced auto-genocide conducted by the Pol Pot regime, Singapore even recognised the rogue state and killing machine, provided military assistance, and mobilised international community to deny legitimacy of Heng Samrin’s regime and to deny any humanitarian assistance to survivors of the Khmer Rouge.”

According to Khmer Times’ report, Singapore recognised the Pol Pot regime as legitimate and established diplomatic relations with the Khmer Rouge regime on 6 May 1976. Singapore also invited its leadership for an official visit to Singapore in 1977.

After Khmer Rouge forces were defeated in 1979, it retreated back to the jungles and started guerrilla warfare. Khmer Times noted that Singapore was the first SE Asian country offered to provide military assistance to the guerrilla forces to fight against the new Heng Samrin’s regime. Heng Samrin continues to remain in politics and is the President of the National Assembly of Cambodia as well as an MP for Tboung Khmum Province. At age 85 years, he is presently Cambodia’s oldest parliamentarian.

Khmer Times continued, “After all these forty years, the gut to mention about Singapore’s bravery in denying the toppling of Pol Pot’s regime is nothing but a complete disrespect to lives and souls of Cambodian peoples. The comment made by Lee Hsien Loong touched deeply on Cambodian wound by stirring the memory when the self-acclaimed high moral Singaporean government has never denounced auto-genocide conducted by the Khmer Rouge.”

“Cambodian people can forgive but we can never forget our difficult times and we know clearly who were our friends in need. Singapore was not one of those. These Singaporean leaders should be invited to visit Toul Sleng Genocide Museum Archives, which were registered by UNESCO as Memory of the World International Register on 9 August 2010. Also, they can come to visit Cheung Ek mass graves and killing field if they still think that genocide was a fabrication,” it added.

“Lee Hsien Loong’s comment reignited pain of Cambodian people and questioned moral responsibility and sensibility of a statesman towards millions of lives of Cambodian peoples. Singapore’s exclusive and selective peace and exceptionalism is despicable and Singapore should learn to acknowledge the other country’s existence and desire for peace just as much as its own. Singapore’s leaders should start to learn to acknowledge that ASEAN is now ten and not five as they often nostalgically recite. And Cambodia is among those ten, in case Singapore forgets.”

Cambodian politicians joined in criticising PM Lee

Cambodian MP Hun Many has also joined in to show his displeasure. He said he was “beyond surprised” at the recent remarks by PM Lee.

He said PM Lee’s comments regarding the period represented only one angle of a complex situation, in particular, the political stance some Southeast Asian nations held at the time.

The atrocities and crimes against humanity, especially genocide, committed by the Khmer Rouge should never be overlooked or forgotten, he added.

The world should not forget how much Cambodians suffered, he said. Close to three million innocent victims died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge over three years, eight months and 20 days because the world turned a blind eye to Cambodia.

“While everyone was playing politics, Cambodians were praying for help. We wanted to be saved from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, and it did not matter from who and from where that help came from,” Hun Many said.

“It came in the form of the [Cambodian People’s Party] CPP with the assistance of our neighbour Vietnam.”

Documentation Centre of Cambodia director Youk Chhang said PM Lee’s words showed there was a need to establish an Asean peace and human rights education programme for the region – starting with Singapore.

“There have been many developments recently to promote the respect for human rights in the region, including the Asean Convention on Counter Terrorism, the Asean Human Rights Declaration and the Declaration on the Global Movement of Moderates.”

“When you don’t learn from history, you seem very uncivilised in the modern world,” Chhang said.

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UNODC report: Transnational Organized Crime continues to thrive due to ASEAN’s disorganized and reactionary response

The UNODC’s policy report criticizes the disorganized and reactive responses to trafficking in Southeast Asia.

These efforts have failed to dismantle Transnational Organized Crime groups, allowing them to persist and thrive.

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BANGKOK, THAILAND: In a recently published policy report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has strongly criticized the responses to the issue of trafficking in persons for forced criminality in Southeast Asia, characterizing them as disorganized and reactionary, lacking a systematic and well-coordinated approach.

These sporadic responses have proven ineffective in dismantling the Transnational Organized Crime groups engaged in these criminal activities. Despite previous efforts, these syndicates have persistently operated and thrived, as highlighted in the report.

Released on Tuesday (26 Sep) under the title “Casinos, Cyber Fraud, and Trafficking in Persons for Forced Criminality in Southeast Asia,” the UNODC report sheds light on the rapid expansion of the online casino and gaming industry, especially in high-risk areas of the Mekong region, notably Southeast Asia.

The ad-hoc measures taken by countries like Cambodia and the Philippines have led to a partial displacement of organized crime groups, which have relocated their operations, particularly to regions within Myanmar. This shift has become notably prominent.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend of online betting and gambling, with a significant increase in online betting platforms and the use of cryptocurrency payments.

Technological advancements, such as mirror websites and third-party betting software, have made it easier to establish online casino operations with minimal technical expertise and capital, regardless of gambling laws in a given jurisdiction.

China’s enforcement actions against cross-border gambling

In 2020, Chinese authorities arrested over 75,000 suspects involved in illegal cross-border gambling, with at least 600 extradited to China with the cooperation of local authorities in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Chinese authorities also reported the dismantling of more than 2,260 online betting platforms and 1,160 betting promotion platforms in 2020, along with the closure of around 1,960 illegal payment platforms and underground banks while handling over 3,500 cross-border gambling cases.

In 2022, Chinese police investigated over 37,000 cases related to cross-border gambling.

There is clear evidence of a well-defined operational plan by these organized crime groups, which includes the recruitment of victims, execution of scams and fraud, and money laundering.

The fact that new scam compounds are continuously emerging in Southeast Asia points to the urgency of enhanced information sharing and responses to organized crime in the region.

Involvement of wealthy tycoon in illicit operations

The UNODC report sheds light on the key figures behind these criminal activities, with organized crime group leaders at the apex of the hierarchy, orchestrating these operations and forging alliances with government officials and affluent individuals.

They are responsible for the overall strategy and alliances with government officials and wealthy individuals.

The report underscored that some wealthy individuals have been implicated in cases of online scams, fraud, and trafficking in Southeast Asia. They may be involved in funding or supporting these illicit operations.

For example, a Chinese billionaire, She Zhijiang, was arrested in Thailand in 2022 and accused of running major online gambling rings across Asia, including Hong Kong, China; Taiwan PoC; China; Malaysia; Vietnam; and other countries.

Additionally, the report delves into the roles played by various key actors within these criminal operations.

They are: “scam directors” responsible for daily operations, controllers who manage trafficking victims through coercion, agents handling victim transportation and releases, recruiters convincing victims to participate, and recruitment agencies serving as intermediaries.

Transporters guiding victims across borders, and models serving as the face of scam calls, at times falling victim to exploitation themselves.

Locations of the scam compounds

The locations that are clearly hubs for online scams and fraud, and trafficking for forced criminality, are mainly in Cambodia, and Myanmar, as well as Lao PDR.

In Cambodia, the majority of scam compounds are concentrated in Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh, with notable complexes like the ten-skyscraper facility in Otres.

Other reported scam sites include Kandal, Phnom Penh, Koh Kong, Poipet, Pursat, and Kampot.

In response to increased media scrutiny and intense bilateral pressure from other Southeast Asia countries whose citizens were affected by trafficking for forced criminality, Cambodia launched a ‘crackdown’ on the scam operations in September 2022.

The stated objective was to effectively close down illegal online scam and fraud operations and secure the release the trafficking victims

The crackdown seems to have also led to organized crime operations spreading to other parts of Cambodia. Since late 2022, recruitment advertisements began listing new destinations, including Oddar Meanchey, O’Smach, and Pursat province.

In Myanmar, scam compounds are primarily located in Wa State, Myawaddy, Laukkaing Township, Kokang Shan State, and various other regions.

These compounds often inhabit casinos, resorts, hotels, office buildings, and residential developments.

They are fortified with measures like metal bars on windows and armed guards equipped with weapons and restraints to prevent victim escape and unauthorized entry.

Unlike Cambodia, in Myanmar, purpose-built structures are being constructed specifically for large-scale online scam and fraud operations, making it challenging to intervene and assist victims in more remote regions.

Figure 2: Locations of casinos and scam centres in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar

Note: The present map depicts locations of known casinos, reported or raided compounds related special zones in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar as reported by regional law enforcement authorities and may be subject to change given the evolving situation an ongoing law enforcement operations. Numerous other compounds have been reported by regional law enforcement but have not included as they remain under investigation. (Source: UNODC)

How ‘scam park’ bosses generate enormous profit

The UNODC report sheds light on how organized crime groups operating within the realm of online scams, encompassing investment scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and illegal gambling, primarily pursue financial gains.

According to the report, scam operations in one Southeast Asian country are estimated to generate a staggering US$7.5 and US$12.5 billion, or half the value of that country’s GDP.

“One group of trafficking victims can generate hundreds of thousands of US dollars in a week for traffickers,” the report noted.

Trafficking victims contribute significantly to these profits, generating hundreds to thousands of US dollars daily for the criminal groups.

Victims of online scams and fraud may lose varying amounts, with some individuals reporting losses in the millions of US dollars.

Organized crime groups also profit through extortion by demanding ransoms from victims’ families, ranging from US$3,000 to USS$30,000. Ransom amounts have seen a significant increase in Myanmar in 2023.

Furthermore, criminal groups profit from the sale of trafficking victims to other scam compounds or criminal organizations for various forms of exploitation.

These illicit proceeds are reinvested in criminal activities and may involve investments in advanced technology such as AI.

Criminal organizations also use these profits to bribe government officials and private sector actors, ensuring their operations remain relatively undisturbed and legitimized.

The remaining illicit profits are laundered through money transfers, legitimate businesses, and various investment avenues like cryptocurrency and properties, further undermining the rule of law and financial systems while strengthening criminal groups’ influence as significant investors in the region.

Comprehensive blueprint for combating organized scam crime in Southeast Asia

The UNODC policy report offers a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at tackling the multifaceted challenges posed by organized crime in Southeast Asia.

These recommendations encompass a range of critical actions, including the creation or updating of bilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to effectively address the evolving nature of trafficking in persons for forced criminality.

To bolster victim rescue mechanisms, the report advocates the replacement of ad hoc rescue processes with standardized agreements designed for the initial identification and release of victims.

The UNODC further emphasizes the necessity of ensuring that all individuals who manage to escape or are released from scam compounds undergo a thorough victim screening process.

The report underscores the importance of providing immediate protection and support to presumed victims.

In addition, the report proposes the establishment of specialized units at the national level to coordinate responses to organized crime. It also encourages collaboration with technology companies to enhance investigations and address the evolving nature of criminal activities in the digital age.

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ASEAN

ASEAN nations unite with UNODC to combat organized crime and human trafficking in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian nations, in partnership with UNODC, have initiated a groundbreaking strategy to combat organized crime and human trafficking.

A UN policy report has exposed the pervasive presence of these criminal groups in Myanmar’s border regions, making it challenging for law enforcement to intervene, while trafficking victims remain trapped in remote areas vulnerable to online scams.

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BANGKOK, THAILAND: Southeast Asian nations, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have launched a groundbreaking strategy aimed at tackling organized crime and human trafficking in the region.

The initiative, announced in the Thai capital, Bangkok, is set to target criminal activities primarily linked to casinos, while also addressing money laundering and cybercrime.

Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), joined by China, and representatives from UNODC, unveiled the comprehensive plan of action.

The new plan aims to strengthen preventative measures and enhance the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to combat international organized crime and human trafficking on a regional scale.

“Trafficking in persons connected to casinos and scam operations run by organized crime has mushroomed across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Mekong” remarked Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“There is an urgent need for regional cooperation to address these increasingly integrated and interlinked crimes in the region, as well as the ecosystem they exist in.”

Human trafficking, often utilized to recruit victims into criminal activities, is just one facet of transnational organized crime, as highlighted in a policy report released by UNODC on Tuesday (26 Sep).

This criminal activity is closely associated with border casinos, large-scale money laundering operations, cybercrimes, and an array of other illicit offenses. The report also documented credible instances of torture and extortion within these criminal operations over the past year.

Profits generated by criminal organizations in the region have reached unprecedented levels, with illicit funds increasingly funneled through the regional casino industry and other cash-intensive businesses, including the surge in cryptocurrency usage.

“Organized crime groups are converging in the region where they see vulnerabilities,” Mr. Douglas commented.

Billions siphoned equal to half of a Nation’s GDP

He added that “operations against syndicates in some countries like the Philippines have caused a partial displacement, and we have seen criminals moving infrastructure into places where they see opportunity – basically where they expect they will be able to take advantage and not be held to account, to remote and border areas of the Mekong,” he said.

According to the report, scam operations in one Southeast Asian country are estimated to generate a staggering US$7.5 and US$12.5 billion, or half the value of that country’s GDP.

“One group of trafficking victims can generate hundreds of thousands of US dollars in a week for traffickers,” the report noted.

UN Policy Report highlights transnational crime gangs establishing remote bases in Myanmar

The UN’s policy report has shed light on the alarming presence of organized crime gangs operating in the border areas of Myanmar, adjacent to China.

These remote locations, often inaccessible to law enforcement, serve as operational hubs for criminal syndicates perpetrating online scams, leaving trafficking victims with scant chances of escape.

Powerful Chinese and Taiwanese criminal organizations, operating primarily in the Mekong region and the Philippines, have orchestrated a “scamdemic” resulting in billions of dollars being siphoned off through tactics that include romance scams, extortion, and investment pyramid schemes.

While certain crackdowns have been executed in Cambodia and the Philippines, these criminal groups are evolving and perfecting their fraudulent activities from fortified compounds located within the protective umbrella of ethnic rebel groups in the conflict-ridden terrain of Myanmar.

Locations of casinos and scam centres in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar (source: UN report)

In Myanmar, a significant hub for criminal activities has flourished in the Myawaddy region, situated just across a small river from the western Thai border town of Mae Sot.

Another network of compounds stretches along Myanmar’s eastern border with China, extending northward through Shan State, passing through the special administrative area of Wa State, and reaching Kokang, which shares a border with China’s Yunnan province.

Transnational crime syndicates operating openly and forming unusual alliances

The report has found that, rather than operating in the shadows, transnational organised crime groups there can be remarkably open, in some cases presenting themselves as legitimate business entities or even philanthropic organisations.

Some organised crime chiefs have developed public alliances with influential business leaders and officials.

Co-chaired by the Philippines and UNODC, the new plan is finalised and will be tabled by the Philippines at the next ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime.

“Addressing this issue in one or a few countries’ domestic contexts, while necessary and welcome, will not have a significant impact,” warned Rebecca Miller, UNODC Regional Advisor on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.

“The plan the region has agreed to, includes practical and targeted actions to address transnational crime comprehensively and strategically.  Progress is being made, but more needs to be done and UNODC stands ready to support,” she added.

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