Thousands of Taiwanese may be trafficking victims in Cambodia: Police

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) Thousands of Taiwanese lured to Cambodia by the promise of high-paying jobs may be stuck there as victims of human trafficking, according to an estimate by the National Police Agency (NPA). The NPA has found based on a check of flight records that around 1,000 Taiwanese have traveled to Cambodia per month in recent months but only about 100 per month have returned, leaving large numbers of Taiwanese accounted for.

The NPA estimated that about 2,000 Taiwanese human trafficking victims are still in Cambodia against their will based on travel records but said there could be as many as 5,000 because of blind spots in the data. It said organized crime gangs often transport victims through third countries or over land borders into Cambodia, which would not show up in travel statistics.

Officially, police records only show 141 cases of human trafficking, with 17 consisting of people who were convinced by warnings in airports in Taiwan not to go to their allegedly high-paying jobs overseas.

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