Cambodia deports Chinese nude photo online scammers

Chinese, in orange vests, arrested over an alleged internet scam, are escorted by Chinese police officers before boarding at Phnom Penh International Airport, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Thursday. (AP Photo)

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has deported dozens of Chinese citizens accused of extorting money from women in their homeland over social media.

Gen Ouk Haiseila, chief of the Immigration Investigation Bureau, said the 74 suspects left the Cambodian capital Thursday on a plane sent by the Chinese government.

Online-based scams by Chinese gangs that operate from foreign countries and target mainland Chinese are common throughout Southeast Asia. Indonesia deported more than 140 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals in August who were accused of scamming businesspeople and politicians in China out of millions.

The general said the gang in Cambodia contacted women over social media and tricked them into sending nude or erotic photos. Members of the gang, which included 14 women, then extorted money by threatening to circulate the images online.