This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
A shootout between two groups of Chinese nationals in the Cambodian beach resort of Sihanoukville left a security guard wounded and two Chinese men with serious injuries, authorities said.
The gunfight on Monday night outside the Blue Bay International Resort Hotel was triggered by a dispute over a joint business venture, Sihanoukville Police Chief Tey Visal told the Khmer Times.
The violence in the Independence Beach neighborhood was the latest reminder that the one-time tourist destination on the Gulf of Thailand has become a hotbed of criminal activity.
Seven Chinese citizens have been arrested on charges of violence and illegal possession of firearms, Sihanoukville Provincial Police Commissioner Sar Ratha told Radio Free Asia. Firearms and ammunition were confiscated by police during the arrests.
Authorities were searching for others involved, as well as for the people who sold the weapons to the gunmen.
“The possession of these explosive weapons is illegal. This applies not just to foreigners, but also to Cambodians,” Sar Ratha said. “In all cases, offenders shall be punished – and if they are foreign, they must be deported.”
Illegal weapons
Law enforcement authorities in Cambodia and China have expanded their cooperation in recent years to address the increase in online scams being run out of Sihanoukville, which over the last decade has become a city of Chinese casinos under the influence of Chinese tycoons.
In 2022, the Interior Ministry announced a campaign to confront online scams being run out of the casinos.
In April, Cambodia deported 130 Chinese nationals suspected of fraud-related activities and illegal online gambling at several sites in Sihanoukville.
Cheap Sotheary of human rights group Adhoc told RFA on Wednesday that investigators must do a better job of finding and arresting weapons dealers. They should also conduct regular inspections at casinos and other gathering places for foreigners in Sihanoukville, she said.
“According to the law on weapons, people who could possess weapons are only competent authorities permitted by law,” Cheap Sotheary said. “So how did the weapons reach the hands of civilians and foreigners? Where did they come from?”
Under Cambodian law, civilians and foreigners cannot legally possess firearms. The prohibition dates back to the 1990s, when people in villages and cities were urged to hand in assault rifles, pistols and grenades as the country struggled to move on from some 30 years of civil war.
