The six were reportedly part of a criminal gang linked to the multibillion-dollar ‘pig butchering’ scam industry
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 1:15am, 28 May 2026A 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 cyberscam networks.The multibillion-dollar scam industry ballooned in Cambodia in recent years, with thousands of foreign nationals involved in romance and cryptocurrency investment cons – some willingly and others coerced by organised criminal groups, according to experts.
The court in Kampot province sentenced the six Chinese men, who ranged in age from 30 to 54, to life imprisonment on charges of murder, cruel acts and fraud via an organised group, according to a court statement.
The six were in Cambodian custody, Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said.
01:46Thai military showcases gutted town-sized scam complex on Cambodian borderThe South Korean student, reportedly kidnapped and tortured by a criminal gang, was found dead in a pickup truck on August 8.
