GEORGE TOWN – Two young neighbourhood friends lured to Thailand by the prospect of well-paying jobs during the middle of the pandemic last year have left their parents in Penang in deep anxiety after they failed to return and ceased all contact.
In what seemed to be a job scam, Lim Zi Xin and Teoh Chi Peng, both 21, became convinced that they had good job offers when a mutual friend bragged about the money he had earned across the border.
The friend convinced the duo to join him to work overseas.
Despite not having their passports, they were duped into believing that their new Thai employers would facilitate everything and they only needed to work for 12 months there to lead a comfortable life after that.
How they managed to enter Thailand is a mystery, as the duo apparently left their homes in July last year when the borders were sealed due to Covid-19.
It is feared that they are being held hostage by their employers who want ransom for their freedom.
Their parents told reporters at a press conference organised by the Penang MCA Public Complaints Bureau here today that the duo had told them in previous communications over the WeChat app that they were being held against their will.
Bureau head Ooi Teik Liang and his deputy Francis Goh Eng Eam, who were present, believe that the duo have been subjected to forced labour.
Zi Xin’s parents, odd-job worker Lim Soon Peng, 53, and his wife Por Sai Yeong, together with neighbour T. Ranggama, who is Chi Peng’s mother, claimed that their sons are being held captive, and are likely working against their will.
Lim showed a location where Zi Xin was last spotted based on his mobile phone record.
“I suspect that my son is working in an illegal call centre operation. Hence, this is why he is working under duress,” he added.
“But as far as we know, they have not been physically assaulted,” he added.
In several text exchanges, the duo had related accounts of working up to 14 hours daily and being disallowed from seeing doctors when they were ill.
When their sons pleaded to be allowed to return home, the employer allegedly demanded up to RM50,000 as “compensation”.
“If I had the money, I would not be here trying to seek help,” said Lim.
He pleaded to the federal government to bring home his son.
His last contact with Zi Xin was on April 17 this year. He believes that the lad may either be detained by the Thai authorities or have been forced to flee to another country.
Hundreds of young Malaysians are believed to have fallen victim, both domestically and overseas, to such job scams.
Police had said last year that 168 individuals were arrested in relation to such scams, which resulted in losses amounting to RM4.6 million between January and August.
Ooi said that the bureau will work with all parties to bring home the two young men.
He advised young people not to be easily duped and to constantly check offers made on social media.
“The best way to find a job is through a proper channel and refer to job portals which are linked to the government. This is to avoid being scammed,” said Ooi. – The Vibes, May 11, 2022
