Tortured Poker Dealers Appeal to Rights Group Over Alleged Poker Cheat Incident!

Source: Mom Kunthear Phnom Penh Post

Six former staff members of the Cambodian Star Vegas Casino in Banteay Meanchey province said Wednesday that they are seeking assistance from the rights group Adhoc to challenge their dismissal by the Thai owner. The fired employees say the owner locked them in a room at the casino for two days before accusing them of working with guests to cheat him out of winnings.

“The casino owner accused us of cheating by colluding with guests to win them money in exchange for a tip. We could not have done it, though, because we work in the evening, and the guests were playing in the morning,” said 26-year-old Touch Sophal, one of the fired staff members.
He added that he and others in the group were struggling to support their families because they had been denied salaries last month. “We filed a complaint with Adhoc so they can help us get our January salary of 7,000 to 8,000 baht (about 800,000 riels), as well as character references to help us secure new jobs,”Touch Sophal said. Contact details for the casino owner and representatives of the Star Vegas Casino were unavailable on Wednesday.

Violation of workers’rights:

Soum Chankea, an Adhoc coordinator in Banteay Meanchey, said he filed the workers’ complaint with the provincial labour department. “The owner of the casino ignored the rights of his workers,” he said, adding that it was a widespread problem, and that he was prepared to take the matter to the Ministry of Labour if necessary. Lim Sothet, director of Banteay Meanchey’s provincial labour department, said Wednesday that he had not yet received details of the complaint but was ready to offer the group his full assistance. “I’ll try to broker an agreement between the dismissed staff members and the casino owner, but if they can’t work things out that way, they can take the matter to the courts,” he said.