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SEPANG – “Don’t believe in lucrative overseas job offers without checking. We were miserable for more than four months there.” This is what one of the victims of employment fraud had to say upon returning to Malaysia today from Thailand.
According to the man and four other victims, all in their 20s, they were mentally abused in order to achieve the work performance set by the syndicate.
The victim said that the painful experience he went through should be used as an example by the Malaysian public so that they are not easily deceived by job offers promising a good salary.
“Sometimes the promised salary is not right. Think ten times before accepting the job offer,” said the victim, whose identity is withheld.
“I was offered a salary of US$1,100 a month, which is about RM4,800,” he was reported as saying by Getaran, the Malay-language sister portal of The Vibes.
The man, along with four other victims, including a woman, arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Bangkok today.
All the victims, aged between 19 and 26, were brought back to Malaysia by Malaysian police and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan, who was present, told at a press conference at the airport that the victims claimed to have been abused for failing to achieve the performance set by the job syndicate involved.
“They were abused to (force them to) achieve work KPI (key performance index) and were not allowed to make phone calls to family members, even if they were still being fed,” he added.
According to Jalil, there are still 14 Malaysians believed to be stranded in Thailand so far.
Therefore, close cooperation with the Royal Thai Police is underway to identify their positions.
Jalil also said that two employment agencies in the country are suspected of masterminding the recruitment of Malaysian citizens to be fraudulently sent as workers under a foreign employment syndicate.
“The two companies are now being investigated by the anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling of migrants unit (Atipsom) to see why they are willing to recruit workers to be sent abroad to the point that the victims are stranded,” he said.
He added that they are legitimate employment agencies that recruit foreigners to work in Malaysia as domestic helpers and farm labourers.
“They have a licence, but take advantage of Malaysian exports,” he said.
Previously, the media reported that five other Malaysians were successfully rescued from a cyber-fraud syndicate based in Myanmar.
All the victims were saved as a result of information channelled by Teruntum state assembly member Sim Chon Siang.
They were rescued by a Thai military team at KK Gardens in Myawaddy, Myanmar on February 3 before being taken to Bangkok.
Sim has played an important role in ensuring the release of 91 Malaysians in Cambodia and Thailand.
It is understood that all the victims were forced to work for a fraud syndicate based in KK Garden, a vast area housing several companies along the Moei River in the Thai town of Mae Sot, which is beside the border of Myanmar. – The Vibes, February 19, 2023