Ringleader and accomplices in the murder of a Korean college student arrested in Phnom Penh. This photo, provided by the National Intelligence Service, shows Li Guanghao (also known as Li Guangho), a Chinese national and the main perpetrator of the 'torture and murder of a Korean college student' case that occurred in a criminal compound in Cambodia last August, along with his associates, being arrested in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on November 27 of last year. Six Chinese nationals, the perpetrators of the torture and murder of a Korean college student in a criminal compound (scam operations) in Cambodia last year, have been sentenced to life imprisonment, the maximum penalty, by a Cambodian court.

According to Cambodian media outlets including Khmer Times and Phnom Penh Post on the 28th (local time), the provincial court in Kampot Province, southern Cambodia, handed down life sentences to all six Chinese male defendants for murder, torture, and organized fraud the previous day.

Cambodia does not have the death penalty, making life imprisonment the highest sentence allowed by law.

The convicted individuals are Li Guanghao (35), identified as the ringleader, along with Li Xingfeng (35), Liu Haoxing (30), Zhu Renzhe (44), Yin Songwan (54), and Jin Tianlong (45).

In a statement, the court revealed that the autopsy results showed the victim, a Korean college student identified as Mr. Park in his 20s, had died from "severe torture with multiple bruises and wounds all over his body."

The court further explained, "After reviewing the relevant evidence, facts, and laws, it was determined that there was sufficient evidence of guilt against the six aforementioned defendants."

Mr. Park had traveled to Cambodia in July of last year and was found dead inside a car near Bokor Mountain in Kampot Province on August 8, approximately three weeks later.

It was found that he had been lured to Cambodia by a voice phishing organization in South Korea and was subsequently detained and tortured by local gang members, leading to his death.

Upon the discovery of Mr. Park's body, Cambodian police collaborated with South Korean authorities to apprehend the defendants in Cambodia.

Li Guanghao was arrested in the capital, Phnom Penh, in November of last year in a joint operation between South Korea's National Intelligence Service and local police, along with three Chinese nationals and five South Koreans.

He had called Mr. Park's family to demand money, threatening to "sell him abroad if he did not comply," and along with an accomplice, forcibly administered methamphetamine to Mr. Park and filmed the act.

South Korean authorities confirmed Li Guanghao's voice from the threatening calls and videos, leading to his tracking.

Li Guanghao was also an accomplice in a drug case that occurred in Gangnam, Seoul, in 2023, where he was the mastermind. Furthermore, he was caught bringing 4 kg of drugs into South Korea in January 2024, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued in South Korea and an Interpol red notice being issued.

Following the murder of Mr. Park last year and the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and UK governments on scam operations in Cambodia, the international community, including the South Korean government, has intensified pressure on the Cambodian government to crack down on criminal compounds.

In response, the Cambodian government took action by arresting and deporting Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Group, who was identified as being behind a large-scale criminal compound in Cambodia, to China in January.

According to the Cambodian government, authorities have indicted 1,458 individuals involved in scam operations on criminal charges by this month and have deported 18,864 individuals from 33 countries who worked for these organizations.

In March, the Cambodian parliament also enacted legislation targeting scam operations, which allows for the imposition of penalties of up to life imprisonment.