Thai man jailed for killing Chinese scammer in Cambodia dies in prison
A Thai man jailed for killing a Chinese member of a call centre scam gang in Cambodia has died in prison. The government was urged to help Thai people lured into working for unscrupulous scam gangs in Southeast Asia.
The 40 year old mother of the deceased, Boonraem Boonme, travelled from the central province of Sukhothai to the eastern province of Trat to collect the remains of her son, 25 year old Wachirawit Kongthong, who died of pneumonitis on November 6, in a prison in the Kampong Som City in Cambodia, also known as Sihanoukville.
Boonraem explained that her son was lured into working for a call centre gang a year earlier. Wachirawit was tortured when he failed to meet his targets. The Chinese gang members reportedly beat him up and attacked him with a stun baton.
During the attack, Wachirawit fought back leading to the death of a Chinese gang member. He was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He started suffering the pneumonitis two months ago and died on November 6.
Boonraem said she attempted to claim her son’s body but the Cambodian authorities demanded a fee of over 70,000 baht. She could not afford this and sought help from the Labour Protection Network (LPN). The LPN offered her a loan but it was not enough to take the body to Sukhothai province.
Boonraem stated that the body was transferred to Trat where she decided to hold the funeral at a temple in the province. She would only take her son’s remains back to her home province.
A LPN representative urged the Thai government to coordinate with the Cambodian authorities to help other Thai nationals in the call centre scam gang and stop this human trafficking network. The LPN also warned Thai people seeking job opportunities abroad to carefully check their workplaces for their safety.
