Protect victims, end scam empires

While China, the West, and South Korea are cracking down on cyber scam empires, the Thai government is still looking the other way.

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Early this year, Chinese authorities dismantled scam compounds in Myanmar’s Myawaddy and brought gang bosses to justice.

This month, Britain and the United States sanctioned Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, mastermind of one of the world’s biggest online fraud networks in Cambodia. South Korea also issued a “code black” travel ban, sent a high-level response team and repatriated over 60 citizens from the scam compounds.

Last week, Myanmar’s military raided the notorious KK Park scam compound in Myawaddy, opposite Mae Sot in Tak province, which holds over 2,000 detainees at present.

The raid at KK was quite shocking. Early this year, China had moved to rescue its citizens from Myawaddy out of frustration with Thai inaction.

The Thai government promised to “cut power, internet and oil” to cripple the operations. But the delay enabled the scam city to adapt. With new power lines, satellite internet and fresh oil supplies from Thailand, the city was back in full swing when the Myanmar government started its crackdown on Tuesday.