Hanoi, March 13 -- The Cambodian Government on March 13 approved a draft law introducing tougher penalties for operators of online scam networks, as the country faces growing challenges from transnational fraud groups and increasing scrutiny as a hotspot for cybercrime.

Under the draft legislation, ringleaders of online scam centres could face prison sentences of five to 10 years along with fines of up to 1 billion KHR (about 246,000 USD). If the operations involve violence, torture, unlawful detention, human trafficking or forced labour, the penalties could rise to 10-20 years in prison and fines of up to 2 billion KHR (around 502,000 USD).

In particularly serious cases, scam kingpins could face 15-30 years in prison or life imprisonme...