Sixteen North Korean nationals were ordered to leave the Kingdom by Friday. Photo supplied
Sixteen North Korean nationals were ordered to leave the Kingdom by Friday after authorities discovered they were breaking UN sanctions by using tourist visas to work in Cambodia.
Siem Reap immigration police chief Chea Kimsan said the town’s police forces had cooperated with Svay Dangkum commune police officers to conduct a check on the commune on Friday.
He said the 16 had been living in Cambodia since September last year and worked as online computer programmers. They will be fined for using the wrong visas.
“They used tourist visas to enter the Kingdom and work without valid permits. They signed a contract agreeing to return to their country of origin in no later than seven days,” Kimsan said on Monday.
The case is the second to have occurred after authorities ordered the Angkor Panorama Museum near the Angkor Wat temple to be closed last month. The museum had welcomed visitors since 2015.
“North Korea has been sanctioned by the UN; the UN banned North Koreans from conducting business in countries that are members of the UN. As a UN member, we are bound to follow the world body’s decision,” Kimsan said.
Director-general of Immigration Kiet Chantharith declined to comment on the case, while the General Department of Immigration spokesman Keo Vanthorn could not be reached to comment further.
However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Koy Koung said on Monday that Cambodia had to respect the UN Security Council’s decision on North Korea.
He recently told reporters at the closure of the Angkor Panorama Museum that some 300 North Koreans worked in the Kingdom.
Four North Korean restaurants in the capital were also ordered to close recently in compliance with the UN sanctions.
Article 372 of The Labour Law of Cambodia stipulates that any person who hires a foreigner without an employment card is liable to a fine equivalent to 61 to 90 days of the employee’s base daily wage or be sentenced to six days to a month in jail.
The sentence can be increased to one to three months imprisonment for repeat offenders.
