Blood and organ harvesting claims by Thai woman in Cambodia were fake

“A Thai woman alleges organ harvesters in Cambodia drew her blood and were about to cut her open when she was rescued.”

Except it didn’t happen. The woman fabricated the entire story.

Thairath.co.th yesterday reported that the Thai woman, who had claimed to have been the victim of ‘organ harvesting’ in Sihanoukville, Cambodia had confessed to inventing the whole incident. She told investigating police that she was afraid no one would help her return to Thailand. The investigation, and eventual debunking, of the woman’s claims was covered extensively by the Khmer Times.

The Thai woman had claimed that she was originally hired by a Chinese gang in Cambodia to work in telesales for illegal gambling. When she arrived in the country and was told to work for the centre, she refused. She says she was then assaulted, detained, and left to starve before being lured into having her organs harvested for sale

At the time she told Thailand’s Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Surachate Hakparn, told Thai media that she was first lured into Cambodia to work illegally for a Chinese-operated call centre and then lured to a place near the Cambodian/Vietnamese border (some Thai media reported the seaside gambling haven of Sihanoukville).

The woman told police that she managed to escape and hired a vehicle to get to a town on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. On the way there, the vehicle stopped to stay at a hotel overnight. She says after that, she woke up back in the city she had escaped from. At one point, she was able to contact another Thai woman, asking for help.

Police eventually exposed the gaps in her story and were able to obtain a full confession that the women had made the whole tale up. She told police that she was taken to a hospital for treatment until she regained strength. Except she wasn’t… there was no record of her admittance to the hospital.

The Khmer Times wrote…

“In this case, the truth was nothing but mischievous attempt to get fame, and sympathy and at the same time, try to avoid punishment for having crossed the border illegally.”

But the whole “organ harvesting” tale had been used before…

“This is similar to the case of a Chinese man who claimed to have been beaten, sold and had his blood harvested when he could not pay his debt of bring brought to Cambodia and thus fabricated a story to sensationalise his lie and bring disrepute and shame to Cambodia.”

As reported in The Thaiger and other media mon March 10, 2022…

“The woman was one of a group of eight Thais who were rescued after getting lured into work in Cambodia. The victims arrived back in Thailand yesterday at the Thailand – Cambodia Friendship Bridge in Sa Kaeo. Surachate Hakparn says the Royal Thai Police will now discuss with Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh and the security department in Cambodia about human trafficking. It’s estimated that around 3,000 Thais are working illegally in Cambodia and police will work on sending them back to Thailand.”

Many migrant workers, mostly Thais, are working in the border casinos, many illegal and underground as well as the online gaming versions. Lured by promises of high income, they often cross the Thai/Cambodian border illegally and end up working for scams and illegal activities, many often working knowing of the illicit nature of their work.