Two hundred and eighty-five Taiwanese human trafficking victims have been rescued from Cambodia and repatriated to Taiwan so far this year. Another 69 are currently in a shelter in Cambodia. That was the word from Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung at the legislature on Monday.
Human trafficking rings in Cambodia have entrapped at least tens of thousands of victims from different countries and forced them to work in fraud rings. Many are beaten violently if they do not comply.
These criminal rings became apparent in Taiwan this year. The government has been cracking down on the human trafficking rings and the national police agency has been warning people not to go to Cambodia to work. Many are lured there by the promise of high paying jobs.
In recent years, 4,679 Taiwanese have gone to Cambodia but have not returned. At least 310 are suspected to be human trafficking victims