BUKIT MERTAJAM – A victim who was duped by a syndicate that sent him to Cambodia for a supposedly lucrative job, only for him to end up working as a scam operator, has expressed his fears that the people behind the scam are out to get him.
Tan Ban Kheng, 41, claimed that the syndicate, believed to be based here, is still monitoring him after he had recounted his traumatic experience of being trapped in Cambodia for three weeks to a local television channel, recently.
“Following my media interview, I was contacted by an individual who admitted to being a representative of a political party last Friday.
“The man wanted me to admit that all my revelations are false, or my life will be unsafe after this,” he said at a press conference at the Bukit Mertajam MP’s office, today.
Talking about his experience, the father of one said he found out about the job opportunity in Cambodia as a team manager in the field of business development through the Jobstreet website.
He said he was attracted by the lucrative salary of RM12,000 offered by the company, apart from the all-expenses-paid trip to Cambodia.
“However, when I got there, everything was fake. I was locked up along with almost 1,000 other Malaysians who I believe have suffered the same fate as me.
“I was brought to a location guarded by the army and was assigned to do scamming tasks, illegal online betting and love-scam jobs among others.
“However, I was lucky to be able to save myself soon after with the help of someone I cannot reveal,” he said.
Tan said he lodged a police report and submitted all information and evidence to police after returning to Malaysia.
Since lodging the first report, Tan has gone on to lodge two more police reports on May 29 and June 18 respectively, after several of his social media accounts and emails were hacked by the syndicate, in addition to the threats received.
Meanwhile, Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said it was time for police to take immediate action against the human trafficking syndicate’s operations.
“Tan is an important witness. This issue has now become like a tragedy in our country because it involves many Malaysians, and they are still stranded there,” he said.
“The syndicate is believed to have a company in Malaysia and has masterminded to bring our people there.
“I hope police can take the most immediate action to investigate and resolve this problem.” – The Vibes, June 23, 2022
