Brutal deceit: Man ends up as hostage in Myanmar after being enticed by lucrative pay

THERE seems to be no end to the baneful accounts of Malaysians eyeing to earn highly profitable salaries only to fall into vicious traps laid for them by ruthless overseas syndicates.

Many of these find themselves doing forced labour or being held for ransom.

In the latest reported incident, a Malaysian man did not expect to become a victim of a human trafficking syndicate in Myanmar when he was offered a lucrative job with a supposed income of up to RM7,000 in that country.

A cruel fate awaited Adam (not his real name) when he landed there as he ended up becoming a hostage in the foreign land.

To make his ordeal worse, the syndicate behind the brutal hoax demanded a ransom amounting to US$50,000 (RM230,000) to his family in Malaysia for his release.

They were told that if they were unable to pay up, they would have to find and ensnare two other individuals in exchange for his release.

His brother, who declined to be identified, said that Adam had been deceived by an advertisement on Facebook offering a good income for a week's work in a neighbouring country in mid-December.

Attracted by the offer, the 34-year-old man contacted the agent whose contact was listed on the advertisement without realising that it was being orchestrated by an employment fraud syndicate.

"My brother saw the advertisement on Facebook and then contacted the agent. They immediately sent him a flight ticket to Bangkok, Thailand,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

"When he got there he was taken by a driver to the Myanmar border in a car. At that time, he still did not know that he was being cheated.

"Then, on the second day, he was taken to a river and instructed to go to the other side. Only then did he realise that he had been duped by the syndicate," he said at a press conference organised by the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) in Kuala Lumpur today.

A few hours after arriving at the syndicate's premises, Adam’s mobile phone was handed back to him.

He then called his family in Malaysia to ask for help.

Meanwhile, MHO public relations officer Daniel Khoo said that the tactics employed by the syndicate in luring victims like Adam have been used many times before, but people are still getting deceived.

"We at MHO are trying to bring such victims home. We are discussing with the governments of Malaysia and Thailand on rescuing these victims,” he said.

"We are also cooperating with the Chinese government to save victims of such syndicates in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar," he added, as reported by Utusan.

Khoo reminded the public not to easily believe in job offers that promise good and quick returns especially when these are coming from overseas.

"Before accepting a job offer, please first check the background of the company involved. You can check with a relevant agency or with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"If possible, ask the company to prepare a work permit from the country concerned first. If not, how can you work in other people's countries?" he said. – The Vibes, January 5, 2023