The grass is not always greener on the other side

Roshaidi (right) and his friend refused to work as scammers as told by the syndicate

PETALING JAYA: The stories of job scam victims, especially of the torture they endured, can be unnerving and almost surreal.

Most of them were lured by promises of lucrative salaries until it dawned upon them that they were being sent to places far from what were advertised.

Mira, 19, had accepted an offer to work as a room attendant at a hotel in Singapore with a promised salary of US$1,100 (RM5,194) per month.

The agent assured her full coverage of expenses, including accommodation and travel to the destination.

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Hailing from Skudai, Johor, Mira initially believed the agent had arranged a van to transport her to Singapore.

Instead, she found herself in KK Garden, Myanmar, and being forced to work as a scammer.

“I chose to remain silent during the journey. Something bad might happen if I asked too many questions,” she told Sinar Harian.

Another job scam victim, Roshaidi Harun, 20, said he fell for a job advertisement at a hotel in Singapore offering S$1,500 last year.

He was then told that the hotel had to “transfer” him to Thailand as the positions in Singapore were already filled, he said.

He did not suspect anything at that point because the company providing the job seemed reputable. It was only when he and a friend reached Thailand, where they were surrounded by armed men, that the reality hit them.

When they refused to work as scammers as ordered by the syndicate, they were beaten and later confined to a room, Roshaidi said.

“We were beaten with sticks, slapped, punched, and slashed by members of the syndicate. We were then locked up without food for several days before being informed that we would be ‘sold’ to Laos for resisting,” he said.

Family intervention can play a role in avoiding job scams.

In the case of Aida (not her real name), her mother’s adamant refusal to her 27-year-old daughter accepting a job offer that she was considering saved her from being trafficked overseas.

“My mother had been reading a lot of news reports on scam victims being whisked away to work for criminal syndicates dabbling in human trafficking or fraudulent businesses,” Aida said.

“She said that if it was just a telemarketer job, why would they need me to be overseas? I could just work remotely. My mother’s argument made sense.”