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Police Detain Suspected Guards Seen Beating Shackled Vietnamese Nationals in Bavet

Security guards beat Vietnamese men near the border town of Bavet in Svay Rieng province, as seen in a video posted on social media on Jan. 29, 2025.
Security guards beat Vietnamese men near the border town of Bavet in Svay Rieng province, as seen in a video posted on social media on Jan. 29, 2025.

Svay Rieng provincial police say they have detained suspects accused of beating Vietnamese nationals who were shackled and assaulted after an apparent escape from an unnamed compound near the border. A widely circulated video of the attack was posted to social media Wednesday evening.

In the video posted to Facebook, three men in security uniforms, armed with batons, are seen kicking one of three men lying on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs in an empty development plot.

Bavet City police chief Em Sovannarith confirmed that officers have arrested the suspected security guards involved in beating the men seen in the video, saying the victims are Vietnamese nationals and the guards are Khmer.

He said the incident happened in Prasat commune, a few kilometers south of Bavet, but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Provincial information department director Keo Chanly said police reports show a total of 14 victims were “rescued” and 12 people arrested for questioning in relation to the beating seen in the viral video.

Six victims are seriously injured and are receiving medical treatment, he added.

None of the law enforcement officials CamboJA News spoke with could confirm who employed the suspects or victims or whether they were screened for human trafficking, citing the ongoing investigation.

Like many border towns and casino enclaves in Cambodia, Bavet has become a hotspot for the online scam industry, with reports of human trafficking, transnational crime, and murder.

Watchdog groups tracking the illicit industry regularly report on revolts and escape attempts by alleged trafficking victims forced into criminality in Bavet.

Following a recent high-profile case of a Chinese actor trafficked to a scam compound in Myanmar, China’s foreign minister urged ASEAN countries to ramp up efforts against the illicit industry.

Amid this push, Cambodia announced plans to form a task force to combat online scams, though details remain scarce.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to request for comment on the case.

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