Cambodia cracks down on human trafficking
Cambodia has increased efforts to fight human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Officials say there were 197 cases reported last year, a 20% rise from 164 cases the year before.
Chou Bun Eng, a senior official at the Ministry of Interior and the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, said police arrested 273 suspects, including 30 foreigners.
Authorities also rescued 523 victims, of which 230 were children. This means nearly 44% of the victims were under 18 years old.
Bun Eng said child trafficking and sexual exploitation, both online and offline, are serious concerns.
She promised that the government would continue to fight all forms of human trafficking and protect the rights of victims.
Many human trafficking cases in Cambodia involve fraud, illegal work, labour disputes, and unauthorised immigration.
Last month, Prime Minister Hun Manet promised a tough response against kidnapping, cybercrime, and human trafficking. He said Cambodia would not tolerate these crimes.
