Officials at some of Cambodia’s most popular tourist spots say they are concerned that recent crimes against foreigners may deter travelers from visiting the country.
Last week five Japanese tourists were bound and robbed at gun- point in their Phnom Penh hotel room by three assailants. And early Wednesday morning, two Canadians—a 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman—were stabbed and robbed in their guest house room in Sihanoukville.
Also in Sihanoukville in April, a Canadian woman in her mid-20s was reportedly raped at gunpoint on the beach.
“We regularly strengthen security, but some bad people sometimes make trouble,” Chhun Sirun, the Sihanoukville deputy governor, said Thursday.
Sihanoukville police were pursuing the suspects in Wednesday’s stabbing, Kol Phaly, chief of the town’s penal police office, said Thursday.
The two injured Canadians were brought to Phnom Penh’s Calmette hospital on Wednesday with stab wounds to the ribs, arms and back, said a Calmette administration official who declined to be named. They were flown to Bangkok for treatment later that night, the official said.
In last week’s incident, the five Japanese tourists were unharmed. But the attacks have alarmed some officials.
In Siem Reap province, Deputy Provincial Governor Suy San said he was concerned about the effects of crime on tourism in his province.
“We have been worried about this problem for a long time,” Suy San said.
“We cannot be careless about this problem.”
On Monday, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema ordered local authorities to increase security at all hotels and guest houses in the city.
Last week, the British Embassy updated its travel advisory for its citizens visiting Cambodia, though the advice was largely unchanged, said John Mitchell, deputy head of mission.
