The United States Embassy in Phnom Penh has fired 32 non-diplomatic staff members who were allegedly caught exchanging pornographic images and video, including of minors, according to the news agency Reuters.
Four sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the content was shared in a Facebook Messenger group and that some of it featured people under the age of 18.
The 32 fired staff members are reportedly Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans and were employed mostly as guards or clerical staff. No diplomats have been fired.
Embassy spokesman David Josar said in an email to The Post on Friday that they do not comment on “internal personnel matters”.
“We note only that the Embassy has clear and firm policies regarding appropriate employee conduct as well as an appeal process for employees who believe they were unfairly terminated,” he said.
According to Reuters, the group chat in question was discovered when the wife of an embassy worker saw some of the images and reported them to an embassy official. The matter was then referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sources said.
Kirth Chantarith, a spokesman for the Cambodian police, could not be reached for comment.
