TAMPARULI: A distraught mother is desperately seeking answers after her 30-year-old son, known affectionately as Lieyco, vanished in Myanmar earlier this year, believed to be a victim of human trafficking.
The woman who only wanted to be identified as Nur, 51, said she last spoke to her son in early January when he unexpectedly asked his family to pick him up from Tachileik, Myanmar despite originally telling them he was only vacationing in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lieyco had left Sabah in mid-June 2024, claiming he was going on a short holiday. However, his family later grew suspicious when his frequent communications suddenly stopped.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“What mother would not worry every single day? I keep dreaming that he is home, but there is still no news,” Nur said.
After persuading him to reveal the truth in December, Lieyco admitted he was working in Thailand but refused to disclose details.
Concerned, his family urged him to install the tracking app Life360, which showed his location shifting from urban buildings to a remote forested area in Tachileik.
Despite lodging police reports and seeking help from Tuaran Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, no progress has been made.
An attempt to involve an NGO also stalled as Lieyco could not be reached, likely because his phone had been confiscated.
“We are not wealthy enough to travel to Myanmar and search for him ourselves. Our only hope now is for authorities to expedite efforts to locate and rescue him,” Nur said.
Lieyco had previously struggled to secure a job in South Korea before returning to Sabah, leading his family to suspect he may have hidden his true intentions to work abroad out of fear they would stop him.
