"Exploitation, misery drove Vietnamese workers to flee hellish Cambodian casinos", 20 August 2022

Whenever she closes her eyes, Doan Thi Ngoc Diep sees water and hear the sounds of batons banging on people.

Diep is among a group of 40 Vietnamese who swam across a river from Cambodia to Vietnam on Thursday morning to escape from a casino where they were tricked into working and which they described as "hell."

There were 42 escapees, but one was caught by the casino guards and another is missing.

"None of us could sleep last night, it was too traumatizing," Diep, 20, told VnExpress …

The casino, managed by Chinese nationals, stands along the Binh Di River, a natural border that is around 70 meters wide during the rainy season between Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese had planned the escape over two nights, making their move in the morning when the casino’s gates are open and there are only seven or eight managers on duty.

… One of them was caught while the rest jumped into the river. Some of them do not know swimming but jumped in anyway, and were helped by the others to reach the other side.

… The Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked Cambodian authorities to help investigate the case.