[UPDATED] Tased, salary withheld: how 16 M’sians were held captive in Cambodia

KUALA LUMPUR – Their salaries were withheld, and they were physically and mentally abused – these are just some of the gruelling ordeals 16 Malaysians had to endure for months when they were held captive by an online scam syndicate in Cambodia.

This harrowing experience was related to the media by the victims’ lawyer and MCA Youth Civil Society Movement Coordination bureau chairman Heng Zhi Li.

Some 12 of the 16 individuals have returned to Malaysia this morning after being relieved of their ordeal in Cambodia earlier this month, while four others have tested positive for Covid-19 and will return home later.  

Heng said based on information shared by the victims, since arriving in Cambodia – some as early as last September – they had been held captive in a building guarded by armed security personnel, making an escape improbable.

The victims also had to suffer mental torture and physical abuse, he added, with one of them being tased for attempting to seek help.

“Some of them were assaulted and slapped. One of the victims, who tried to get help from outsiders, was caught and tased. Most of them were punished in front of the others in an attempt to mentally torture them.

“They were also threatened with repercussions if they attempted to get assistance to leave.”

He said the victims were forced to sleep in squalid conditions, with 10 people crammed into a small room in the same building as their workplace, where more than 300 victims from other countries were also being held.

According to Heng, the captives were duped with lucrative salaries, before being held by the syndicate and forced to take part in an online phishing scam that cheats “clients” to invest in fake cryptocurrencies and share markets.

Their salaries were also withheld, with the victims instead being given cash cards to spend on their food and other basic needs in grocers and eateries inside the same building that are supposedly controlled by the syndicate.

“Some of them arrived with the promise of a US$1,700 (RM7,197) monthly salary. But this amount became less and less, with some only getting US$500. Even so, they were not allowed to hold on to their salaries, but were given cash cards. 

“They were also promised free food and drinks, but this didn’t happen. They didn’t have any money from their work in Cambodia when they returned to Malaysia today.”

Heng also revealed that one of the victims’ family paid RM18,000 in ransom money to the syndicate to secure their son’s release. 

On how the syndicate was able to steer clear of trouble from the authorities in Malaysia, he said agents would typically apply for business visas for potential victims by passing them off as construction workers or waiters, among others. 

Many of the working permits from Cambodia were also fabricated by the syndicate in order to allow the victims to travel lawfully. 

Asked how Cambodian police were able to rescue the Malaysian victims but not others in the same building, Heng said he was made to understand that the Malaysians were taken by the syndicate to the local police station. – The Vibes, April 12, 2022