Put to work at gunpoint

Unwittingly scammed: Mohd Hairi (left) talking to the victims who were made to work for a cryptocurrency syndicate upon their return to Johor.

JOHOR BARU: She packed her bags and left her three children over a promise of a secure job with a salary of more than RM5,000 but ended up putting her life in danger.

The 30-year-old, known as Salwani, was supposed to work as a cleaner in a casino but later found out that she was tricked into being a scammer for a cryptocurrency syndicate in Cambodia.

The single mother said that she and her fiance found out about the job opening through a friend who gave them the contact number of an agent.

“The agent said that I will be working as a cleaner and the salary promised was US$1,100 (RM5,200) a month.

“It sounded like a great opportunity as this will allow me to make sure my children will have a better future.

“My fiance and I were also planning to get married and we thought that this will help us save up money for the wedding. So we both took the jobs,” she said, adding that she left her children under the care of her family.

Salwani said the agent, who is also local, arranged for their travel to Cambodia and even personally sent them to the airport.

“We only found out what was going on when we arrived there. There was no way for us to escape as they were monitoring us closely.

“For two months, I had to work every day to fulfil the target set by the syndicate, which was to get at least RM7,500 from unsuspecting victims from Malaysia.

“It was hell. I dared not tell my family what was going on as I didn’t want them to worry,” she said.

Salwani was among seven Johoreans who were rescued and brought back to the state after being tricked by the syndicate, believed to be from Taiwan.

Another victim, known as Mohamad, 34, said that he was forced to work for the syndicate for about five months.

“My passport was taken away by the syndicate the moment I arrived and I was forced to sign a six-month contract or pay RM15,000 to return home.

“We were made to work between noon and 11pm daily or even longer if we fail to reach the target set by the syndicate,” he said.

He added that he was instead paid US$500 (RM2,360) for the first two months and did not receive any payments the following months.

“We obeyed their instructions as we feared for our lives. I heard of victims being beaten up and even had a gun pointed to their heads,” he said.

He added that they were all made to live and work in the same building and were not allowed to leave without supervision.

“We planned the escape for about a month and were able to get in touch with the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO).

“We pretended to go to a hair salon where we met with representatives from MHO who helped us,” he said.

Meanwhile, state youth, sports, entrepreneur development, cooperatives and human resources committee chairman Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said the state government spent RM15,000 to bring the victims back to Johor.

“There are many jobs available in Johor. Of the 50,000 vacancies, only about 31,000 have been filled so far. So, we hope that Johoreans will focus on looking for jobs here first,” he said.

He added that the state government would be helping the victims look for jobs in Johor.