Thai officials took international journalists and an ASEAN Observer Team to an alleged scam compound in O'Smach, Cambodia, on Monday, September 7. The 80-hectare site is under Thai military control following last year’s second round of border clashes, Thailand said.
ACM Prapas Sornchaidee, director of the Joint Information Centre on the Thailand-Cambodia Situation, led the visit through the Chong Chom permanent border crossing in Surin's Kap Choeng district.
Thai forces said they had found 157 buildings at the site, including 29 used for scam operations, and had seized six Cambodian military bases. Officials alleged the compound had been used to store weapons and explosives, and as positions for snipers and drone attacks against Thai troops.
Hospital and fake police stations inspected
The delegation was shown Zones A to E, including the newly built Zhong Nan Hospital, described as the compound's only hospital and one used by senior Chinese figures in the alleged scam network.
An operating theatre raised suspicions, based on Royal Thai Police information, that organs including kidneys and hearts may have been removed from scam workers who had failed targets and were allegedly beaten or tortured until close to death. Authorities suspect the organs were sold for further income.
Observers also entered mock police stations made to resemble agencies in China, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. Thai officials said they contained scam scripts, uniforms from several countries, replica interrogation rooms, staged arrest photographs, worker-testing rooms and training material.
Tuesday, September 8, marks nine months since Thai troops took control of the area. Buildings damaged in fighting have deteriorated, with water standing in some structures and equipment breaking down.
Thailand rejects territorial motive
Prapas said the government, Defence Ministry and Foreign Ministry arranged the visit to set out Thailand's position. He denied that Bangkok was using scam operations as grounds to take Cambodian land, saying Cambodian forces had used the area to attack Thai troops.
"These are not simply allegations," Prapas said, adding that agencies had gathered information for possible asset seizures, financial disruption and investment restrictions. He said the evidence could support investigations in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.
He said Cambodian forces had allegedly cut through barbed-wire fencing at two or three points, while people presenting themselves as civilians had been captured and found to be Cambodian soldiers on two or three occasions. Thai troops had to follow their rules of engagement, he said.
Pictures courtesy of The Nation
"If they open hostilities, we must respond in full. Ground forces, air power and artillery are fully prepared," Prapas said. He added that bilateral talks and reduced provocation were the best route forward.
Prapas said Thai troops had established defensive trenches over more than 10 kilometres of surrounding terrain and that Cambodian tanks could not enter. He said forces had retaken Chong Pling with one battalion, destroyed explosives and ammunition, including rocket-propelled grenades, and removed a truckload of Cambodian weapons as evidence.
He stressed that the military deployment was for national defence under the Chakrabongse Bhuvanath Plan, not border demarcation or an invasion. Lt Col Khunakon Chotiphanat, commander of the 25th Infantry Battalion, said troops near Chong Chom remained combat-ready, while alleging continued shots from the other side.
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9 September 2026
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