GEORGE TOWN – Men tied up on the floor and hung from the stairs, getting the beating of their lives while they begged and cried to be saved – it is not a horror movie opener but videos shared by alleged victims of a Cambodian job scam.
Several of such videos were shared with The Vibes while many were posted on Jelutong MCA’s Facebook page in an effort to caution against falling prey to online job ads that promise lucrative pay in US dollars.
Those who alleged that they were scam victims said they were only allowed to return home after their families paid ransoms of up to RM100,000 – an ordeal complicated by geopolitics, syndicates and corruption.
An investigator, who did not want to be named, said the alleged victims, many of who are school leavers, are lured by lavish job offers, which include paid flights to Cambodia.
He added that the viral videos are allegedly of scam victims from China and Taiwan.
For now, Penang MCA Public Complaints Bureau deputy chairman Francis Goh told The Vibes that it is helping the families of three Penang-born victims, aged between 18 and 25, to leave Cambodia and return to Malaysia.
It is also learnt that Special Branch officers will be liaising with their counterparts to get the trapped Malaysians home.
Among the issues confronting the families are that the authorities in Cambodia and Myanmar are unable to access places where the victims are allegedly kept because it sits on private land.
It is believed that the syndicates operating the call centres have protection from those who have ties to the Golden Triangle drug lords who operate along the borders of Cambodia, Myanmar and China.
Some Macau scam calls are made from such call centres while “workers” there are under heavy guard.
Their personal effects are seized by the syndicates and they are allegedly forced to work the phones around the clock.
The Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh reported that 46 Malaysians allegedly escaped their ordeal while ambassador Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim said there have been more than 60 such cases pending further action.
“We are working closely with the Cambodian authorities to get them home to Malaysia.”
In 2018, the embassy helped 47 Malaysians caught in similar predicaments.
The most recent involved four Malaysians, aged between 29 and 41, who arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 9, claiming they suffered harsh treatment at the hands of their supposed captors.
Eldeen urged Malaysians to be wary of job advertisements promising lucrative pay overseas.
“Check with relevant authorities, including the embassy to validate the job offers. Inform your family in Malaysia if you receive such offers. They might give you a valuable second opinion on whether the job offer is a scam.”
Malaysian police had received 156 reports involving 189 Malaysians who were stranded abroad after being duped by job scam syndicates.
Earlier, the Bangkok Post reported that 89 Thai nationals, who were recently rounded up during raids on call centres in Cambodia, will be repatriated for legal proceedings.
Thai deputy national police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas said the call centres were believed to be used to run scams by tricking victims into believing they were in imminent danger and promising them relief for a price.
The scammers are also believed to have been running romance cons, delivery scams, and even impersonating police. – The Vibes, July 16, 2022
