KUALA LUMPUR: Worried that his disabled adult son had been duped by a love scam or organ-harvesting group, a father is pleading for the man’s safe return after he was shown to have flown to Cambodia.
The father, 70, identified only as Chua, said his son, 43-year-old Joshua Chua Beng Hoe, was mute and deaf, and suffered from several health ailments.
Chua said Beng Hoe left home on May 25 but he had thought little of it as it was normal for his son to go for walks on his days off.
“But he did not return that day while messages to his phone went unanswered,” he said at a press conference at Wisma MCA here yesterday.
The family, he added, was also informed by Beng Hoe’s workplace – a fast-food outlet – that he did not show up for work as well.
A police report on his disappearance was made in Kajang, Selangor, on May 28.
Chua said a colleague received a message from Beng Hoe with a selfie stating he was in Cambodia.
“The message, however, didn’t come from Beng Hoe’s phone,” he said.
Come home: Chua (left) and Chong showing the press a picture of Beng Hoe. — ONG SOON HIN/The Star
Checks showed that Beng Hoe had made several bank transfers amounting to RM2,999 to an account in Cambodia and that he had been in contact with a purportedly Cambodian woman via Facebook since last year.
Screenshots of their video calls were shown and Chua said he believed the two had communicated via sign language.
According to Chua, Wisma Putra informed them that Beng Hoe had renewed his passport on April 26 and flown from klia2 at 10.28am on May 27 on an unknown airline.
“But Beng Hoe’s old passport expired in August 2022 and it is still with the family,” he said.
Raising the possibility of his son being used in an organ-harvesting scheme by criminals, Chua said it caused the family great concern.
“The thought sends a shiver down my spine. I hope whoever has him will let him go.”
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong, who organised the press conference, said this was a rare case as most missing persons’ cases he handled were of able-bodied people.
“The victim is a deaf-mute and there is very little he can do for a crime syndicate except hard labour.
“I will speak to the (Malaysian) ambassador there and ask for help,” he said.
