‘Ransomed’ workers returned to Cambodia
All but three of a group of 20 Cambodians who were held against their will on a fishing boat in Thailand had returned after agreeing to pay a fee for “transportation”, a police official said yesterday. The men, believing they were heading to jobs in Koh Kong province, were allegedly trafficked last month by a Thai broker into Thailand’s Trat province, where they were held for ransom. … Sok Maly, deputy chief of the Koh Kong province anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police office, said eight of the victims had paid 1,000 baht (US$32) to be released. … Police had found that the 1,000 baht “ransom” payment was actually a loan for daily expenses, he said, and claimed it was not a serious case of human trafficking because the men had simply struggled to adjust to working conditions. … Phorn Phoung, one of the repatriated men, denied he borrowed the money expenses but was, in fact, docked the cash for the transportation used to traffic him there. …
