Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday it had cooperated with Cambodian police to rescue 34 Indonesian citizens who had been duped into Cambodia, where they had been imprisoned and forced to engage in fraud work.

The incident was found to have originated when the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, received a letter asking for help from an Indonesian citizen who was detained in Poipet last Thursday, December 8. After further investigation by the Foreign Ministry, it was found that more than 30 Indonesians were trapped.

Subsequently, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh immediately contacted the Cambodian police, especially the Poipet police, to rescue the detained Indonesians.

The director of Indonesia's Overseas Chinese Protection Department, Juda Nugraha, said that the next day (December 9), in addition to the three people rescued before, Cambodian police also rescued 31 people, a total of 34 Indonesians have been rescued from the fraud company.

The 34 Indonesians rescued are now being questioned and investigated at Poipet police station. The investigation could take up to a week to conclude before it is forwarded to the Indonesian embassy.

In recent years, cases of Indonesians falling victim to online scam companies have been on the rise. From 2020 to 2022, 1,018 Indonesians were tricked into becoming victims of human trafficking crimes in various Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos and Thailand, with Cambodia having the most cases at 679.

These are mostly job scams claiming a monthly salary of $1,200 with no specific conditions. But once they arrive in the designated country, they are forced to engage in fraud.