PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) – A Cambodian court sentenced six Chinese nationals to life in prison for their involvement in the murder of a South Korean student, Park Min-ho. The sentencing occurred on Wednesday, reflecting the severity of the crime, which included elements of torture and aggravated fraud. The defendants ranged in age from 30 to 54 and were convicted by the Kampot Provincial Court. Notably, Cambodia does not impose the death penalty, making life imprisonment the most severe punishment possible.
Park Min-ho, a 22-year-old South Korean, was found dead in Kampot province in August 2025. Reports indicated he had been lured to Cambodia under the pretense of job opportunities, only to be forced into working at a scam center where he was ultimately killed. His body displayed signs of brutal torture, which sparked significant outrage in South Korea and led to heightened diplomatic pressure on the Cambodian government.
Following Park's murder, South Korean officials exerted intense pressure on Prime Minister Hun Manet to take action against the expansive online scam operations blamed not only for his killing but also for a range of other crimes. The trial against the six defendants began on May 6, as outlined in a statement released by Cambodia's Information Minister, Neth Pheaktra. The case underscores the troubling rise in cybercrime throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, where law enforcement capabilities are limited.
Scam operations in the region often exploit foreign nationals who are trafficked into the country with false job promises, only to find themselves trapped in inhumane working conditions. These illegal enterprises primarily focus on “romance” and cryptocurrency scams, leveraging the lack of regulation and oversight in the local gambling industry to facilitate their activities. United Nations experts and other analysts have reported that these operations generate substantial profits from victims worldwide.
This year, Cambodian authorities have claimed to ramp up efforts against these scam centers, aiming to dismantle their operations and apprehend those involved. The Cambodian government extradited an alleged scam kingpin named Chen Zhi to China in January. Chen, the founder of Prince Holding Group, was implicated in running a large-scale multinational fraud network that laundered millions of dollars in illicit gains. U.S. authorities had previously indicted him for his involvement in these activities.
In a legislative move aimed at combating online scams, Cambodian lawmakers passed a bill in March that empowers law enforcement to impose sentences of up to life in prison for those engaged in such operations. Statistics reveal that between January 2025 and May 2026, the Commission for Combating Online Scam in Cambodia deported 18,864 individuals from 33 countries and charged 1,458 people with various crimes related to online scams.
Moreover, U.S. officials intensified their crackdown on Southeast Asian cyber fraud operations last month. The initiative, described by federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro as a “new theater of war” against Chinese transnational organized crime, involved the U.S. government's Scam Center Strike Force. This campaign included the Treasury Department sanctioning a notable lawmaker and 28 others linked to Cambodian scam activities. Criminal charges were also filed against two Chinese nationals operating a similar scheme in Myanmar.
The U.S. crackdown further sought to disrupt significant online recruitment channels, including those on the Telegram messaging app, and involved efforts to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds associated with these scams. The escalating international focus on Cambodian and regional cybercrime operations indicates a growing consensus on the need for coordinated efforts to combat these pervasive and damaging criminal networks.
