Chinese warned on job scams abroad

China's embassy in Cambodia on Wednesday warned Chinese against falling for high-paying recruitment offers from online gambling companies after a criminal gang repeatedly took blood from a Chinese national in the tourist city of Sihanoukville.

On Feb 12, Phnom Penh's Bethune Cambodia China First Hospital reported to the embassy that a Chinese man surnamed Li was admitted in a critical condition due to large quantities of blood having been drawn, according to a statement from the embassy.

The man "was duped by a false job advertisement" and was coerced by criminals into being smuggled into Cambodia, the embassy said.

He was later illegally detained by gangs involved in online gambling and telecommunication scams in the Chinatown area of Sihanoukville, and had large quantities of his blood drawn repeatedly until he was left in a severe condition, the statement said.

The embassy has reported leads to police, who are carrying out investigations, it said.

The embassy urged Chinese citizens who plan to work in Cambodia to use reputable job search platforms and avoid the trap of being lured by false job advertisements with offers of high pay.

In the event that people fall victim to fraud, kidnapping, or other forms of restrictions on personal freedom, the embassy advised that they should try to report the offenses to the Cambodian police as soon as possible, as well as to the embassy, so that investigations can proceed.

In April last year, the Chinese embassy in Cambodia flagged concerns about trafficking related to online gambling, and said in a statement that two Chinese citizens had been rescued by local police after being illegally detained by an online gambling gang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital.

The embassy warned Chinese citizens against falling into the "high salary trap" in relation to suspicious offers, and told the criminal gangs to "step back from the brink" or face punishment under the law.