Malaysian allegedly ‘trapped’ in the Philippines by job scam syndicate

 

The victim’s mother said the syndicate contacted her and asked for RM100,000 for his release.

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian, who is believed to have fallen victim to an overseas job scam syndicate, has been allegedly “trapped” in the Philippines for almost a year, according to his mother.

Vong Foong Thai, 61, a tailor, claimed her son Choong Chin Yee, 24, initially decided to go to Manila to work in the IT field after not being able to find any job here, Bernama reported.

“My son wanted to work there after he was offered a well-paying job at around RM8,000 (per month) by a friend who was already working in the Phillippines.

“Once he reached there, his passport was confiscated while his mobile phone was periodically checked to make sure that he did not divulge any information to his family members,” she was quoted as saying at a press conference in Ipoh.

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Vong claimed Choong, who is her eldest child, soon realised that his work entailed offering “fake jobs” to Malaysians with the promise of making over RM9,000 per month.

“My son refused to do it and asked to be released. On July 27, I received a voicemail from a man threatening me via the WeChat application asking me to pay RM100,000 to have my son released,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, Perak MCA public service and complaints bureau chief Low Guo Nan said he will be contacting the Malaysian embassy in the Philippines to make arrangements for Choong’s safe return. - FMT