China diplomats warn nationals not to gamble in Cambodia

Jan 27, 2021 Newsdesk Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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China’s embassy in Cambodia issued on Tuesday a warning to mainland-China passport holders not to take part in gambling activities in the Southeast Asia nation, after “multiple” cases recently there, of “violence” directed against Chinese; including some instances that had “resulted in deaths”.

“…Looking at the recent vicious crime cases involving Chinese citizens [in Cambodia], many of those were led by gambling causes,” the embassy said in its Tuesday statement, adding the guidance amounted to a “repeated” warning.

The mission also counselled Chinese citizens against “falling into the trap” of recruitment offers by what it termed online gambling companies, luring people to work in Cambodia for “high pay”. The embassy pledged that the Chinese authorities would take sanctions against people involved in online gambling activities.

“The law enforcement units of China and Cambodia are jointly enhancing efforts to combat every online gambling and telecom fraud activity involving Chinese citizens in Cambodia,” the embassy wrote.

China’s diplomats in Cambodia had issued warnings last year and in 2019, against Chinese citizens getting involved in gambling activities within Cambodia.

In August 2019, Cambodia said it had stopped issuing new permits for firms wishing to provide “online gambling” services and was phasing the practice out, at the expiry of existing ones.

On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism stated the nation would add more overseas destinations to its “blacklist” for cross-border gambling activities, though it did not name any places.

China’s central government first announced in August, the establishment of such a “blacklist” system.

 

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