The local police had erred when it said it could not bring home five Malaysians who had fallen prey to job scams, due to immigration law in Cambodia, said an NGO.
Migrant rights NGO, the North South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira said the job scam victims are trafficked individuals, and under international conventions against trafficking, they cannot be arrested under immigration offences.
“Job scam victims can be rescued more easily if the authorities use Non-Punishment of Victims of Trafficking under the Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons and several other international laws that protect the rights of the victims.
“In the recent case where the Bukit Aman CID chief Abdul Jalil (Hassan), who led a rescue mission to Cambodia said that five who were rescued during the police mission could not return due to the violation of immigration laws of the country.
“However, those categorised as human trafficking victims will be protected under anti-trafficking laws.
“Human rights and criminal justice practitioners have raised concerns that arresting, charging, detaining, prosecuting or punishing trafficked victims who commit crimes in connection with their victimisation would be unjust,” he told Malaysiakini.
He said job scam victims are known to be held illegally, tortured, electrocuted, sexually abused, harassed and starved, fulfilling conditions for them to be classified as trafficking victims.
Six months wait for rescue
The CID chief in a media conference at the KLIA on Jan 27, said out of 330 stranded in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and in other countries, a total of 211 Malaysians have been rescued and the remaining 113 people are still stranded in foreign countries.
He said out of 145 people known to be job scam victims in Cambodia, 116 were rescued, while another 29 were still stranded there.
“Another five, who were rescued during the police mission, could not return due to violation of immigration laws of the country,” Jalil said.
Jalil also said the police team’s four-day mission was in coordination between the police, Foreign Ministry, Malaysian Embassy and Wisma Putra between Jan 24 and Jan 27.
Meanwhile, Pereira said victims of trafficking in Malaysia can be rescued within a week of their case and whereabouts being known to relevant authorities, and they are repatriated immediately.
However, the Malaysian authorities are unable to ensure the same for Malaysians who had fallen prey to traffickers abroad.
“I do not understand why when Malaysians held in custody in other countries like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar by the jobs scam and human trafficking syndicates, it takes more than six months to rescue and repatriate.
“We are dealing with a case involving a Malaysian being held in Myanmar. It is almost six months and we are unable to rescue the victim.
"NGOs here feel there is much to be done at the Asean level to expedite the rescue and repatriation process. The families of the victims undergo stress and mental torture over the safety of the victims,” he added.
Scam victims forced to be scammers
Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das said Malaysian police have had difficulties rescuing the victims as the incidents are happening beyond Malaysian borders.
She said job scam victims have been held at ransom, and are forced to work in “fraud factories” to make up the sum.
At these “fraud factories”, victims are forced to conduct online criminal activity, ranging from “love scams” and crypto fraud, to money laundering and illegal online gambling.
“We have also received reports of sexual assault and some women originally recruited to work in scam centres have reported being subsequently forced into situations of sexual exploitation. They are also tortured mentally and physically.
“They are also forced to sign contracts or pay a ransom, which can be up to RM80,000.00 per person,” she said.
Glorene said in general, traffickers are targeting young, educated people who are computer literate and can speak English or Mandarin, so they have the skills to work in the phone scamming business.
Doubly exploited in immigration detention
Most do not receive the salaries promised to them, while others do not get paid at all, she said.
“The traffickers operate through sophisticated fake profiles and illegal websites and post job opportunities overseas via social media to trap youths in Malaysia.
“Victims have reported serious physical abuse at the hands of their traffickers. This includes being beaten, electrocuted and starved.
"Victims also report being forced into rooms too small to stand in and being deprived of natural light and water for hours,” she added.
Glorene said besides Malaysians, people from countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam have been identified, in addition to many victims from outside the Asean region - including from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Brazil.
“Many victims are also being detained by either the police or immigration authorities upon rescue. In Cambodia, victims report being detained by the police and interrogated for up to a week,” she said.
She said the victims say they are doubly exploited at immigration detention centres - alleging immigration officers demanding fees for bedding and food.
Glorene added that prolonged detention also resulted in victims being re-trafficked.
"In October last year in Cambodia, several Chinese (national) trafficking victims released from a temporary immigration centre were immediately forced into vehicles and taken away and a victim from Malaysia reported that he managed to escape and went to a nearby police station to seek help.
“However, the police immediately alerted the traffickers and handed over the victim to the traffickers for a fee of US$5,000, (RM21,230),” she alleged.
Embassies aware
She said Malaysian embassies in these countries are aware of these scam operations, as those who manage to escape have sought assistance to return home.
In one case in Cambodia, she said, an escaped victim sought the consulate’s assistance to return home as his passport was held by the trafficker.
However, the embassy staff allegedly advised the victim to lodge a police report to say he had lost his passport and hide the fact that it was kept by the trafficker.
This meant that even though he was held against his will, he had to pay a penalty for overstaying.
He was also forced to pay US$30 (RM127.38) to obtain a copy of the police report, so he could be issued a new passport.
“The victim complained that he had to pay a total of US$700 (RM2,972.20) through the Malaysian Embassy for police reports, immigration penalty, travel and other documents,” she said.
Malaysiakini has contacted Wisma Putra for a response. - Mkini
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