A Korean man in his 50s was kidnapped and tortured in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Local police arrested four Chinese and one Cambodian as suspects.
According to local outlets including the Khmer Times, Phnom Penh police said on 22nd they apprehended five suspects on charges of confining and torturing a 51-year-old Korean man, identified as A. The arrested suspects are a total of five: four Chinese in their 30s to 40s and one Cambodian man in his 30s (a driver).
At about 8:30 p.m. on 21st, A stopped by a cafe in the Phnom Penh area in his car and, while returning to the vehicle at about 9:50 p.m., was seized by suspects who arrived in a black car and was forced into a vehicle. A cafe security guard who witnessed the scene reported it to police, and officers arrested a Chinese man at the scene when he returned to retrieve the victim's car.
At about 5 p.m. on 22nd, the next day, police additionally arrested the remaining four at a hotel in Phnom Penh. They also seized at the scene one K54 semi-automatic pistol, two magazines, nine rounds of live ammunition, one metal pipe, three walkie-talkies, a rubber holster for a pistol, 112 meth pills, two passports, and drug inhalation devices.
The victim's identity and the specific motive have not yet been identified. Police are continuing the investigation, focusing on the possibility that the crime was meticulously planned.
Meanwhile, as Koreans' losses from job scams and confinement in Cambodia continue to rise, the government on 16th issued a level 2 travel advisory (refrain from travel) and a special travel advisory for Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, as well as the Bokor Mountain area in Kampot Province and Bavet on the Cambodia–Vietnam border.