Authorities working to protect Vietnamese citizens tricked to work illegally in Cambodia: Spokesperson

WVR/VNA - Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang on August 25 updated the media on the issue that many Vietnamese people had been tricked to work illegally in Cambodia.
(08.25) Người phát ngôn Bộ Ngoại giao Lê Thị Thu Hằng thông tin về tàu cá Việt Nam bị Malaysia bắt giữ ngày 11/6. (Ảnh: Minh Quân)
Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang at the press conference on August 25. (Photo: WVR/Minh Quan)

Addressing at the Ministry’s regular press conference, the Spokesperson highlighted that the Vietnamese Government pays close attention to this issue.

The media in the two countries recently reported that many Vietnamese nationals have been tricked into working illegally in Cambodia and face difficulties.

Facing that fact, the Foreign Ministry and Vietnam’s representative missions in Cambodia have worked closely with ministries, sectors, and localities, especially the provinces bordering Cambodia, as well as Cambodian authorities to collect and verify information, carry out many citizen protection measures, and repatriate those in distress.

More than 500 Vietnamese citizens have been helped to return home safely while thousands of others received assistance in handling procedures, Spokesperson Hang said, noting that the Ministry of Public Security cracked down on many gangs and arrested many for sending people to work illegally in Cambodia in the first half of this year.

The spokesperson said in the time ahead, the Foreign Ministry and Vietnam’s representative bodies in Cambodia will keep coordinating with domestic authorities and localities and Cambodia to increase citizen protection measures, help the tricked citizens return home, and ensure their rights and legitimate interests.

Localities will also step up monitoring and issue warnings to locals about working abroad, she stressed.

Authorities working to protect Vietnamese citizens tricked to work illegally in Cambodia: Spokesperson
The Binh Ghi River section through which 40 Vietnamese nationals escaped from the Rich World casino, located in Kaoh Thom district of Cambodia's Kandal province, to return to Vietnam on August 18. (Photo: VNA)

Regarding the 11 Vietnamese nationals who are stranded in Cambodia while trying to flee to Vietnam and could be expelled by local authorities due to lacking passports, Spokesperson Hang said after receiving the information, the Foreign Ministry had instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia to work with local authorities to ask for early investigation and stronger examination of working sites, especially those providing entertainment services, so as to detect, prevent, and deal with any cases of illegal employment of workers.

The Foreign Ministry also requested the Embassy to work with the host country’s agencies to protect and rescue the foreign workers, including Vietnamese ones, who are being exploited by employers, work closely with Vietnam’s authorities to increase the management of exit and entry in the two countries’ land border areas to prevent and minimise illegal exits, according to the spokeswoman.

She added that on August 22, the Cambodian police arrested the manager of the place where 40 Vietnamese citizens escaped from on August 18, and handled procedures for 25 other Vietnamese who were also tricked to work illegally in Cambodia to return home.

The Ministry’s Consular Department has worked with relevant agencies to verify information and take the next citizen protection measures, Spokesperson Hang went on, saying that the Department and Vietnam’s representative missions in Cambodia will keep a close watch on the case and coordinate with domestic and Cambodian agencies to solve related issues and carry out citizen protection measures when necessary.

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(Source: WVR/VNA)