Chinese Public Security Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi (second from right) meeting the alleged scam centre workers on the Thailand-Myanmar border on Feb 17. - The Nation/ANN
MAE SOT, Thailand: A Chinese government minister met more than 1,000 alleged scam centre workers on the Thailand-Myanmar border on Monday (Feb 17), Thai media said, as the three countries vowed to crack down on the illicit compounds.
Public Security Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi did not answer journalists' questions as he took a one-day tour around the Mae Sot-Myawaddy frontier crossings where cross-border crime has proliferated.
Media outlet The Reporters posted photos on Facebook of Liu and his team meeting "1,030 foreigners", alleged forced scam centre workers -- hundreds of whom are believed to be Chinese -- in a local militia command centre in Myanmar.
Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar's borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling people around the world in an industry analysts say is worth billions of dollars.
When asked about Liu's visit, Chinese foreign affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun on Monday told a news briefing that Beijing was "actively carrying out bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar and other countries" to "eradicate the malignant tumour of online gambling and telecom fraud".
The Karen Border Guard Force, a militia allied to the junta, said on Saturday it was ready to hand over 500 people linked to cyber scams to Thailand per day, following a major operation in Shwe Kokko, a notorious centre for scam compounds.
Thai media reported on Saturday the military task force responsible for border security in Thailand's Tak province had coordinated with Karen Border Guard Force leaders to receive 7,000 workers from scam compounds.
On Wednesday, another local militia group handed 260 alleged scam centre workers from Myanmar to Thai authorities, some of who spoke of severe punishments meted out by their Chinese bosses. - AFP
