Cambodia deported Taiwanese fraud suspects to China yesterday and today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, expressing serious concern and urging Cambodian authorities to provide a full list of the Taiwanese suspects deported.
About 180 Taiwanese were arrested together with seven alleged Chinese coconspirators on March 31 during a round of raids on an online telecommunications fraud center in Phnom Penh.
Cambodian authorities deported nearly 190 suspects to China in three groups last night and early this morning, the ministry said today.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
After receiving notification of the arrests on April 1, Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City began negotiating with the Cambodian government, the ministry said.
The office requested that Cambodian authorities provide a complete list of names of the Taiwanese suspects and deport them to Taiwan to face legal consequences in accordance with international norms, it said.
Despite these requests, the Cambodian government has yet to provide a complete list or specific number of suspects, the ministry said.
The ministry expressed serious regret over the Cambodian government’s compliance with China, disregard for international norms and failure to respect the will of the Taiwanese involved.
The ministry has instructed Taiwan’s representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to formally convey Taiwan’s strong protest to these actions, it said.
The ministry consulted with relevant agencies including the Mainland Affairs Council, hoping to utilize the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議) to request the suspects’ return, it said.
The ministry urged Taiwanese not to engage in illegal activities such as telecom fraud overseas to avoid breaching local laws and being imprisoned abroad.
Relevant agencies would continue working with other countries to strengthen efforts in combating transnational crime, the ministry said.
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