Skip To Main Content
Luke Hunt on Muck Rack

Luke Hunt

Verified
Hong Kong, Phnom Penh
As seen in: Studio Bomborra, MSN Australia, The New York Times, Yahoo News New Zealand, News.com.au, OUPblog, Nikkei Asia, Patreon, SFGate, South China Morning Post, Stuff.co.nz and
Covers:  Southeast Asia and beyond, politics, conflict, economics
Doesn't Cover: Anything dull.
Foreign correspondent covering East Asia, author, semi-retired academic in war & international relations. @Diplomat_APAC

Get in touch with Luke

Contact Luke, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Luke Hunt’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

Luke Hunt cut his teeth in the early 1980s while traveling through what was then some of the world’s trouble spots, including Northern Ireland and the south of Morocco before moving into journalism. Initially, Hunt worked for Australian Associated Press and then Agence France-Presse where he served as bureau chief in Afghanistan and Cambodia and was the first journalist to file from Baghdad with the US marines in 2003. He also covered wars in the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Kashmir, and focussed…

Luke Hunt’s Journalist Portfolio

Australia's perfect firestorm | TheArticle

Australia's perfect firestorm | TheArticle

In Gisborne, it's 7am and a smartphone on the kitchen table buzzes. Suzanne Reinwald, a 54-year-old librarian…

View article →
Mighty Mekong slows to a trickle - ucanews.org

Mighty Mekong slows to a trickle - ucanews.org

A recent flurry of alarming headlines painted a grim outlook for the Mekong River, with coverage dominated by…

View article →
Jakarta Floods: Yet Another Reminder of Indonesia's Capital Woes?

Jakarta Floods: Yet Another Reminder of Indonesia's Capital Woes?

Advertisement The recent floods in Jakarta took a deadly toll, creating widespread chaos, landslides, and put…

View article →
Kissinger in Cambodia

Kissinger in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH - Theary Seng was taking aim with precision and anger. The 41-year-old U.S.-trained lawyer and a r…

View article →
In Cambodia's one-party state an authoritarian offers too little too late | TheArticle

In Cambodia's one-party state an authoritarian offers too little too late | TheArticle

The release of political prisoners in Cambodia is unlikely to appease the harder heads in Washington and Brus…

View article →
Decisive action will not resolve Hong Kong's problems | TheArticle

Decisive action will not resolve Hong Kong's problems | TheArticle

With the authorities in Hong Kong intent on forcing a final, decisive victory over pro-democracy demonstrator…

View article →

Articles

Alleged Cambodia Scam Kingpin Chen Zhi Could Face the Death Penalty in China

|
By Luke Hunt Verified
| Tribune Content Agency
China knows how to send a stern message and the word out of Beijing this week will reverberate across the region, particularly in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group and alleged mastermind of the country’s scam compound industry, just might be executed. Authorities have beefed-up Chen’s charge sheet since his deportation in January from Cambodia to China, where he is facing prosecution – adding intentionally inflicting bodily injury.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Alleged Cambodia Scam Kingpin Chen Zhi Could Face the Death Penalty in China

|
By Luke Hunt Verified
| The Diplomat Magazine Verified
Myanmar follows Beijing’s lead in amending anti-scam laws as crime syndicates shift operations. Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Holding Group, as seen in a publicity photo on the conglomerate’s website. Credit: Prince Holding Group Subscribe for ads-free reading China knows how to send a stern message and the word out of Beijing this week will reverberate across the region, particularly in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

The Shifting Contours of Transnational Cybercrime in the Asia-Pacific

|
By Luke Hunt Verified
| Tribune Content Agency
Last week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its latest report on transnational scam networks, which found that victims from East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand had been defrauded of up to $114.1 billion in 2025. The report draws on official data, case records, financial intelligence, and field research in describing an increasingly sophisticated criminal ecosystem dominated by Chinese-origin transnational organized crime groups.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 1,236 licensed articles (1,800 Total)

Interview

See all →

What was your first job as a journalist?

Writing about skiing in the alpine areas of Australia.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes.

How is social media changing news?

Every expert, every idiot and everyone in between with an opinion can express themselves badly.

Awards

See all →

YouPic

2020 - Gold Prize "Journalism hero"

One of five achievement awards in photography, although these feel more like Boy Scout badges.

View Award

Amnesty/Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards

2015 - Certificate of Special Merit for Outstanding Contribution

For a special series for the Edge Review magazine about human trafficking across Southeast Asia.

View Award

Finalist Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA)

2015 - Finalist

Human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

View Award

Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA)

2014 - Gold Prize

Buddhist militancy in Southeast Asia.

View Award

World Association of Newspaper

2013 - Best in Newspaper Feature Article

Shared award for a supplement covering the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Phnom Penh Post.

View Award