The Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MOFA) yesterday expressed a solemn protest and concerns to Cambodia for deporting three groups of Taiwanese suspects, who had been arrested in the nation for alleged engagement in fraud, to China on Sunday evening and yesterday morning.
The Cambodian government cracked down on a scam center and arrested 180 Taiwanese suspects, the ministry said.
Complying with China’s request, Cambodia deported three groups of Chinese and Taiwanese suspects, a total of nearly 190 people, to China on Sunday and yesterday morning, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
However, the ministry said that due to pressure from Beijing, the Cambodian government did not provide the exact number of the deported Taiwanese suspects and a full list of names to Taiwan.
“The ministry not only continues to urge Cambodia to provide the information, but also expresses solemn concern and protest,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that it consulted with other government agencies, including informing judicial authorities and the Mainland Affairs Council as soon as the incident occurred, and it hopes the Taiwanese suspects can be returned to Taiwan according to the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議).
Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City continues to negotiate with the Cambodian government in efforts to receive information about the suspects, and the government would also make efforts through cross-strait mechanisms, it said.
“The ministry again urges people not to press their luck and engage in illegal telecommunications fraud abroad, to avoid being found to have broken the law and becoming imprisoned in another nation, which not only ruins their future, but also damages the nation’s image,” it said.
Government agencies would continue to cooperate and work with the international community to combat transnational crime, it said.
The deportation of the suspects occurred just before Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) began a tour of Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia yesterday.
Earlier this month, the Cambodia China Times reported that Cambodian authorities raided an online scam center in Phnom Penh on March 31, detaining 186 foreigners suspected of running fraud schemes.
All 186 detainees were Chinese or Taiwanese nationals, the newspaper reported.
An unnamed Ho Chi Minh City-based liaison officer for the Criminal Investigation Bureau on Thursday last week said that Taiwan was continuing talks with Cambodia to prevent 179 Taiwanese fraud suspects from being deported to China.
Cambodian media reports suggested that the Taiwanese suspects were to be handed over to China as a goodwill gesture to Beijing.
Additional reporting by CNA
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