Cambodia Transfers 790 Gang Convicts to Support Frontline Military Work
Cambodia Transfers 790 Gang Convicts to Support Frontline Military Work
PHNOM PENH, May 22, 2026 — Cambodian authorities have transferred hundreds of convicted youth gang members to correctional facilities near military support zones under a new rehabilitation programme aimed at vocational training and assistance to frontline engineering operations.
According to Cambodia’s General Department of Prisons, 790 male convicts identified as youth gang offenders were transferred on May 21 from rehabilitation centres and prisons across the country to two designated facilities.
Of the total, 651 prisoners were sent to Correctional Centre 4 in Pursat province, while another 139 were transferred to Oddar Meanchey provincial prison.
The programme follows instructions issued by Prime Minister Hun Manet on April 26 directing the Ministry of Justice, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and the National Police to coordinate arrangements allowing convicted youth offenders to assist in suitable frontline support work, including trench construction and other engineering-related activities.
In a statement published through official social media channels on Friday, Hun Manet said the transfers were intended to strengthen rehabilitation, discipline and self-improvement among the convicts while equipping them with vocational skills and contributing useful work to support frontline operations.
Authorities said the vocational training programme would include agricultural activities such as vegetable cultivation and livestock raising, as well as construction-related skills including concrete work and the production of trench covers and defensive infrastructure.
The General Department of Prisons said the programme would be implemented in cooperation with agricultural specialists and military engineering personnel.
Officials added that the activities are intended to support forces stationed along frontline areas responsible for protecting Cambodia’s sovereignty.
The initiative comes amid heightened national attention on border security and military preparedness following tensions along parts of the Cambodia-Thailand border over the past year.
Cambodian authorities have increasingly promoted rehabilitation and vocational education programmes for offenders as part of broader efforts to address youth crime and social reintegration.
