Forty people swam to Vietnam, crossing a river to flee Cambodia where they worked in a casino that did not pay them, authorities in both countries said on Friday.
The incident occurred Thursday in the Cambodian region of Kandal (Southwest), near the capital Phnom Penh.
Illegal work
Vietnamese police, quoted by state media, arrested forty employees of "
Golden Phoenix Entertainment
" who crossed the border in force, swimming.
All are Vietnamese.
According to Colonel Dinh Van Noi, these people worked long hours without receiving adequate pay.
“
These people were working illegally
,” said Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Kheng.
“
They were promised high salaries but they didn't get what they wanted... They crossed the border because they couldn't reach an agreement (with their employer).
They fled
,” the leader continued.
The police have launched an investigation and are questioning the manager of the casino.
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Vietnamese authorities have counted around 250 workers, lured by the easy money dangled from casinos, were rescued from Cambodia in the first half of 2022. Cambodia is on the US blacklist for human trafficking.
