Convict deported to Cambodia faces possible extradition to China

Beijing has an extradition treaty with Phnom Penh, but not with S’pore

- Christine Tan and David Sun

Convicted money launderer Su Wenqiang may have cause for worry over a possible extradition to China following his deportation from Singapore to Cambodia on May 6, The Straits Times has learnt.

Beijing has an extradition treaty with Phnom Penh, but not with Singapore.

The 32-year-old Cambodian national has been on China's wanted list since 2017 for illegal online gambling.

In August 2023, Su was nabbed with nine other foreigners in an anti-money laundering operation in Singapore that saw $3 billion in cash and assets seized.

All 10 are said to be originally from China, but nine of them hold Cambodian passports.

They received their Cambodian citizenship between August 2018 and March 2021, according to a gazette published by the Cambodian government, which lists the identity of new citizens.

Mr Amarjit Singh Sidhu, of Amarjit Sidhu Law, said that with an extradition treaty in place, Cambodia may have to oblige if China makes the request.

"The obligation, however, is subject to discretionary refusal, such as on humanitarian grounds," added Mr Amarjit, who has handled a number of clients who faced deportation from Singapore.

He said that where individuals are deported to would depend on the passport they hold. Su had passports from China, Cambodia and Vanuatu when he was arrested in Singapore.

"Ordinarily, after serving their sentence, they will be deported to their country of origin. This means the country they came from at their last point of disembarkation," said Mr Amarjit.

Su was deported to Cambodia on May 6 with Wang Baosen, 32.

They were sentenced in April to 13 months' jail and barred from reentering Singapore after pleading guilty to two money laundering charges each.

The sentence was backdated to their date of arrest on Aug 15, 2023.

When they were sentenced, Su and Wang had each been in remand for about eight months.