Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow has instructed the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh to investigate a report that a Thai man was tortured to death at a call centre in the Cambodian border town of Poipet yesterday.
According to information from a group of Thais dedicated to assisting Thai workers abroad, the victim, identified only as Sarawut, a native of Samut Prakan, was allegedly struck with an iron club and subjected to high-voltage electric shocks before his death on the sixth floor of a call centre building in Poipet. His body was taken to Phnom Penh for an autopsy.
Sihasak said the ministry has allocated a budget to facilitate the repatriation of the man’s body.
More than 1,000 suspected scammers were recently moved to the building from the town of Bawet, according to the group. The call centre is reported to focus on romance scams.
On January 10, a Thai woman from Phang-nga, identified as Suda, was allegedly tortured by her handler, who allegedly forced her to perform squatting exercises until she collapsed, according to the Emmanuel Foundation.
The handler then reportedly subjected her to electric shocks in an attempt to revive her, but she died. Her body was also sent to Phnom Penh for an autopsy.
