Police: 45 Malaysians stranded in countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos

 

The police have received 35 reports, involving 45 Malaysians, believed to be stranded in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, said Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Abd Jalil Hassan.

He called on family members of those affected to lodge a report with the authorities as he was confident several more have not done so.

"We urge that they come forward and make a report as this will facilitate us in tracking the whereabouts of those who have been held captive in these countries," he told the media after the arrival of 12 Malaysians who were job scam victims in Cambodia, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) in Sepang today.

Abd Jalil said police would be recording statements from all the victims before they are allowed to return home.

Sixteen Malaysians who were forced to work as scammers by a syndicate in Preah Sihanouk in Cambodia, after they were deceived by a job advertisement looking for customer service officers. They were rescued on April 5.

Deceived through Facebook

He said they were all deceived through Facebook and the costs of their trip there were borne by a company in Cambodia, and that their travel documents were seized, their movements were controlled and they were kept under tight security as soon as they arrived in the country.

Twelve of the victims managed to return home today, while four others are still in Cambodia as they had tested positive for Covid-19 and are required to undergo quarantine.

The success of bringing the 12 men home, was a result of the close cooperation between the Royal Malaysian Police and the Cambodian Police, as well as Interpol, Aseanapol and Wisma Putra.

Foreign Ministry deputy secretary-general Amran Mohamed Zin said the Cambodian authorities had received information on the involvement of 16 Malaysians in illegal activities in the country and arrested all of them on April 4.

“Even though the Cambodian government found that they (16 Malaysians) were carrying out illegal activities in Cambodia, legal action has been set aside for now so that we can bring home our people from being stranded there,” he told reporters at the airport.

Four other Malaysians

Amran said the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia was monitoring the condition of the four other Malaysians, one of whom is a woman, and would arrange for their return as soon as they were cleared of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Heng Zhi Li, the lawyer representing all the victims, said they left for Cambodia in stages between September 2021 and February this year.

He said they were promised a salary of RM7,000, but were forced to work as scammers without any salary, and were also beaten, slapped and abused with electric shocks.

The victims began contacting MCA in January and the information was then shared with the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants which sought assistance from Aseanapol and Interpol to rescue them, he added.

- Bernama