The group of Vietnamese who escaped Cambodia. Photo courtesy of An Giang Border Guard

AN GIANG — Forty Vietnamese nationals were arrested by An Giang Border Guard on Thursday morning after illegally entering Việt Nam from Cambodia.

According to their testimony, a total of 42 people tried to escape from a casino at Sampeou Poun Commune, Kaoh Thom District, Kandal Province in Cambodia and swam across the Bình Di River to return to Việt Nam.

They said they had previously fled to Cambodia to work at a casino. Their job was to make online games and go to social media websites at the instruction of the people at the casino but they were constantly forced to work overtime without any payment.

According to Major Lê Ngọc Tuấn from Long Bình Border Guard Station, the group comprised of 35 men and five women, whose identities have not been verified.

Some have sustained minor injuries. One person is missing and another 16-year-old male from Kon Tum Province was caught by the casino staff in the attempt to escape.

The An Giang Border Guard Command is organising the search for the missing person and coordinating with the provincial police, military and An Phú District People's Committee to verify and handle the incident. Those with minor injuries are receiving medical attention.

All 40 people who made it to Việt Nam have been tested for COVID-19 and the results were negative.

Recently, many Vietnamese have been tricked into working in Cambodia. They are often promised jobs with lavish payments but are actually sold to gambling and virtual currency trading organisations where they are exploited.

Many people have to pay a large sum of money in order to return home.

In the first six months of this year, the Vietnamese police coordinated with Cambodian authorities to rescue more than 250 cases of people being tricked into working illegally. — VNS