Finnish Twitch streamer rappiomatkaaja was arrested and placed in a Cambodian jail for unknown reasons. He’s now been released and is heading back home.
The streamer broadcasted all sorts of controversial content, including drug use, but there’s no confirmed reason for his arrest and detainment in Cambodia. While in jail, rappiomatkaajasomehow continued streaming on Twitch, going viral with his videos of conditions in the jail and interviews with the prisoners.
RELATED:Twitch Streamer Banned for Reckless Driving, Almost Hitting Pedestrians
It’s unclear at this time how the streamer was able to stream inside the prison, but the videos offer glimpses into life at the prison. His viewers grabbed popular clips from broadcasts for him, offering a more permanent view at the prison than thetypical Twitch broadcastprovides. His most viewed clip is one of him in a dirty bathroom, trying to flush the toilet and showing off graphic graffiti.
Another popular video has the streamer interviewing a journalist that was locked up in prison for over five years. The New Zealand journalist Chris Knight mentioned that speaking ill of the Prime Minister would net you “a very good chance you go to jail,” a controversial statement in and of itself. Knight being in jail for five years also does not match up with theCambodia Expats Online claimthat he was arrested in March 2018 for trying to steal from a gym locker room. Regardless, the time Knight has spent in jail seems to be extraneous in the light of his crime.
While some of rappiomatkaaja’s older streams reportedly had evidence of his drug use, these videos now mostly drowned out, replaced with broadcasts and clips of his time in prison. It may even be possible the broadcasts helped him to be released, as it brought attention to the streamer and his predicament. Streaming from within the prison might have saved rappiomatkaaja from a much longer sentence.
Twitchusers have seen streamers go live from some strange places, but a Cambodian jail is a first. It seems rappiomatkaaja got very lucky to stream without being caught, but it’s worrisome that others would be “undercover” streamers may try something and end up facing some serious consequences. But, with the internet beginning to watch, if rappiomatkaaja suddenly stopped broadcasting the prison would likely be under intense scrutiny, and releasing him was just damage control. Hopefully, prison broadcasts won’t become a streaming fad.
