Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh Denies Abandoning Four Citizens from Binjai

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh has denied allegations that it neglected four Indonesian nationals from Binjai, North Sumatra, who had previously worked as operators in an online scam operation in Cambodia. The statement came from Indonesia's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, in response to media reports published in early May 2025.

"The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh provides consular services and protection for citizens in accordance with established procedures and service standards. This is what enables us to continue handling the various issues faced by Indonesians in Cambodia; cases that have multiplied severalfold in recent years," said Ambassador Santo.

On the ground, facts reveal that the four Indonesians left the online scam "company" because they felt the job targets were unreasonably high. However, they acknowledged receiving monthly salaries, having freedom of movement, and not experiencing physical abuse.

The embassy responded swiftly after receiving the complaint on April 23, 2025, by verifying the report and issuing emergency travel documents (Surat Perjalanan Laksana Paspor, or SPLP) on April 26. The embassy also filed for exit visas with Cambodian immigration authorities.

One of the four individuals, identified by the initials CR, turned out to be a "repeat victim." CR had previously been repatriated to Indonesia by the embassy in 2022, fully funded by the Indonesian government.

CR later returned to Cambodia in 2024 using a new passport and resumed work in the same illicit sector. Due to this repeated offense, CR is currently being held at a Cambodian immigration detention center pending exit clearance, while the other three individuals have completed their exit procedures and are returning to Indonesia independently.

Ambassador Santo stressed that his office cannot normalize involvement in online fraud as legitimate employment. "Online scam activities clearly harm victims back home," he said.

Data shows a sharp uptick in problematic cases involving Indonesians in Cambodia. In the first three months of 2025, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh handled 1,301 such cases, a 174 percent increase over the same period last year. Of those, eighty-five percent were tied to online scam operations.

The embassy called on all segments of society, including local governments and the media, to help raise awareness about the dangers of working abroad without proper procedures—especially in illegal industries that lure people in with offers that are "too good to be true."

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