Of the 4,679 Taiwanese who have traveled to Cambodia over the past year and did not return, 306 might be victims of fraud or human trafficking, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Monday.
The bureau based its findings on interviews with family members or contacts of Taiwanese who did not return from the Southeast Asian country.
Government agencies have been under pressure to act against fraud rings that have lured Taiwanese and other Chinese-speakers to Cambodia with the promise of high-paying jobs. Once there, they are allegedly forced into labor, held for ransom or sold to traffickers.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
The government on Aug. 8 organized a task force to tackle the issue through prevention, deterrence, extrication and prosecution, the bureau said.
From July 1 to Sunday, Aviation Police Bureau officers have stopped 33 potential victims from boarding flights to Cambodia, it said.
It has also investigated 45 human trafficking cases involving 126 suspects, of whom 37 have been detained, the bureau said.
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau has uncovered five human trafficking cases involving 12 suspects, of whom two have been detained, the CIB said.
As of Sunday , 136 Taiwanese had been rescued and returned home through joint efforts by public and private groups, it said.
The CIB said that it has questioned people who were stopped from leaving for Cambodia to learn more about domestic fraud rings, and would appeal for international help and cooperation to rescue Taiwanese being held abroad.
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