Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
The boys in brown are still at it at the Cham Yeam, Koh Kong border crossing.
Possibly the most notorious bunch at any of the Thailand-Cambodia
border crossings, these immigration officials will lock a foreign
traveller in their visa-on-arrival office if he or she doesn’t agree
quickly enough to their 1,200 to 1,400 Thai baht ($40 to $47) fee for a
standard Cambodia tourist visa.
This despite the fact that Royal Government of Cambodia official policy has the fee set at $20. Intimidation is their game.
But let’s not forget the other people who get harassed by these sharks.
I was one of a party of four that crossed the border at Cham Yeam on December 22.
We were trying to bring a Cambodian to hospital in Chanthaburi
province to be treated for frequent seizures that Cambodian doctors had
not been able to control.
She had an official, brand-new Cambodian passport for the trip. But
the immigration boys couldn’t have cared less that she was in a
nauseated, near-unconscious state when they began their intimidation
act.
They said that although she was 24 years old and in the company of
responsible people, she was probably going to be sold into the sex
trade.
To prevent this, they said, she must pay a 30,000-riel fee and make a
sworn, signed and thumbprinted statement that she would not sell
herself into the sex trade.
Come on, guys, can you say “human-rights violation”?
This is just one example of the foolishness these officials engage in
daily in their attempts to charge illegal fees to Cambodian citizens.
Despite her obvious poor state of health, they then made her wait in the heat for an hour for their ad-lib paperwork procedure.
It would certainly be nice for Cambodians and foreigners alike if the
government finally put a stop to the dishonesty and intimidating
behaviour at the Cham Yeam, Koh Kong border crossing.
One only has to Google this crossing to see that Cambodian tourism suffers tremendously because of these clowns.
Matt Jacobson
Koh Kong
3 comments:
Hi Jacobson ,
Cambodia is reeked with corruption from top to bottom levels
of government offices . The immigration officer have to pay
his boss a certain lump sum of cash for that post then he has to do whatever it takes ( immoral , lawless , corruption,
intimidation ect ...) to get more money back . Hun Sen is
corrupt too ! he has never taken any bribe because it is
against tha law of the land but he has taken gifts then return
favor . Hun Sen calls it " culture of sharing " not corruption .
Therefore ; no one would take care of your complaint . Either you or your friends stay away from Cambodia , the
kingdom of wonder OR you bribe to get in and out .
Phnong, Kratie
Same thing happened to me while I was passing through Cambodia and leaving it. They doubled the price of the visa at the Thai-Cambodian border. But it was the travel agent that did this, I don't know if it was the actual border guards.
When I was leaving the Siem Reap airport, they basically asked me to give them extra money or they wouldn't let me leave.
I was held at the Poiyoet Cambodia/Thai border and they refused to stamp my visa for exit. They wanted me to pay them 2,000 baht and give them my leather passport wallet. When I refused they held me for 4 hours. I managed to walk back to the Thai entry side and they didn't offer me any help. In the end I had to pay 1,200 for a visa inbound and 1,000 to leave. I will never visit Cambodia ever again.
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