Cambodia moves to cancel passports issued to foreigners

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Cambodia's government has decided to revoke all passports it had issued to foreigners, drawing praise from neighboring Thailand whose ousted prime minister allegedly used one, local media reports said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued the order last week, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

The newspaper said that the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has asked all its departments to deposit passports issued to those who were not born in the country.

The move is seen by many as a reaction after reports emerged that former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra allegedly held a Cambodian passport to register as a company director in Hong Kong.

Shinawatra was removed from office by the Royal Thai army in a 2014 military coup. She is accused of mishandling $8 billion and sentenced to five years in prison in 2017.

Cambodia, however, has denied that it had issued a passport to the ousted Thai premier.