During a working meeting with His Excellency Abhisantibindit Sar Sokha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on the morning of 24 September 2026, His Excellency Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, highlighted that online scams are not an issue occurring solely in Cambodia or Singapore, but rather a global challenge occurring with victims everywhere. In other words, it is a shared issue that all parties must resolve together, without placing the burden on any single party or country.

According to His Excellency Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, the presence of the Singaporean delegation attending the International Conference on Combating Online Scams in Cambodia at this time serves as concrete evidence demonstrating that this issue requires the participation of all parties. His Excellency asserted that Singapore is prepared to introduce several new initiatives within the framework of jointly combating online scams, particularly on the occasion of Singapore assuming the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2027.

Regarding Cambodia, His Excellency reaffirmed that the issue of online scams is a matter that everyone must understand: if one country is safe, other countries are safe; conversely, if one country is unsafe, other countries are equally unsafe. Therefore, joining forces to combat online scams is an essential and urgent necessity. In fact, Singapore itself has experienced online scams, both domestic and cross-border, which have impacted the interests of its citizens by millions of dollars each year.

His Excellency also took the opportunity to share lessons and experiences regarding Singapore's use of collaborative partnership mechanisms with the private sector—involving services, commerce, and the banking sector—to generate a collective force contributing to resolving this issue across all sectors, noting that this is not the exclusive responsibility of the state or any single ministry or institution.

His Excellency Abhisantibindit Sar Sokha expressed his gratitude to the Singaporean delegation for attending and delivering a speech sharing valuable lessons, experiences, and insightful perspectives at the international conference. The Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of the Royal Government under the leadership of Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, also expressed appreciation for the cooperation and mutual support between Singapore and Cambodia.

His Excellency Abhisantibindit, Deputy Prime Minister, concurred with the remarks of his Singaporean counterpart on the necessity of cooperation in combating online scams, stating that this issue does not call for pointing fingers at one another, but rather joining hands to exchange experiences, share information, and establish more active and progressive cooperative mechanisms.

His Excellency Abhisantibindit also affirmed the Royal Government's resolute and strict commitment to continuing eradication operations against remaining online scams where criminals have regrouped to operate on a small scale, following past operations that cracked down on over 600 large-scale locations. Over 2,000 individuals involved are currently detained and preparing to face legal proceedings, facing potential prison sentences ranging from 5 to 25 years in accordance with the Law on Combating Online Scams and the Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

His Excellency Abhisantibindit also shared updated information that, to date, approximately 500,000 foreign nationals involved in online scams have voluntarily departed on their own, while others have been subjected to deportation procedures by competent authorities from Cambodia. Currently, according to assessments, approximately 200,000 other foreign nationals remain present in Cambodia, the majority of whom are working in online gaming and betting operations but are not involved in online scams. His Excellency Abhisantibindit confirmed that starting from early October 2026 onwards, the Royal Government will suspend online betting at casinos in order to review and ensure more effective regulatory methods.

His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, "This is another new mechanism aimed at severing the root causes of online scams, even if such online games or betting are not directly linked to scam offenses." His Excellency asserted that these operations will be strictly enforced against any casinos that continue to allow online betting, and the approximately 200,000 foreign nationals will be subjected to legal procedures—both deportation and forced voluntary departure—if found to be residing illegally in Cambodia.