Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities completed procedures to repatriate 92 Vietnamese citizens on Wednesday at Moc Bai International Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh.
Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities completed procedures to repatriate 92 Vietnamese citizens at Moc Bai International Border Gate on September 21.
The group included 71 workers who fled or were rescued from the Lucky 88 Casino in Cambodia's Bavet City, along with 21 other Vietnamese citizens who were working without permits in the country.
Sixty workers fled the Lucky 88 Casino and attempted to return to Vietnam earlier on September 17. They went towards the Bavet Border Gate to find a way to Moc Bai Border Gate. However, four were caught by the casino guards and Cambodian police held 56 others for investigation. Cambodian police later demanded the casino hand over 15 more Vietnamese nationals, bringing the total number of people involved in the case to 71.
It is the second mass escape of Vietnamese workers from a casino in Cambodia within a month, following the fleeing of over 41 Vietnamese citizens on August 18, who claimed they were treated badly and forced to work long overtime without pay.
According to the Tay Ninh Provincial Border Guard Command, they had recently received repatriation requests from between 20-50 Vietnamese in Cambodia daily.
"Most of them are workers at casinos, shops, and factories in Cambodia who were previously brought to the country illegally and have no papers," the border guard command said. "As Cambodian police have recently conducted various raids at local casinos which employ workers without permits, these people have decided to return home."
