PHNOM PENH — A Cambodian court sentenced six Chinese men, reportedly from a scam-linked crime ring, to life in prison on Wednesday for the murder of a South Korean student last year.
The torture and killing of the college student in Cambodia sparked a public outcry in South Korea, which dispatched a task force to the Southeast Asian nation in an effort to jointly tackle transnational cyber scam networks.
The multibillion-dollar scam industry ballooned in Cambodia in recent years, with thousands of foreigners involved in romance and cryptocurrency investment cons — some willingly and others coerced by organized criminal groups, experts say.