KOTA TINGGI: Two victims who were promised employment with a RM4,000 monthly salary ended up as victims of an employment syndicate in Cambodia.
The victims, both from Felda Air Tawar 4, were offered jobs in a casino but were later forced to become scammers working 18 hours from 7am to 1am every day without pay.
The duo was among eight Malaysians detained by the Cambodian Immigration since September after their workplace in Sihanoukville was raided.
Their plight eventually came to the attention of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, who helped them return home.
Nurazlin Zulkifli, 28, said she left for Cambodia on April 18 while her friend Mohd Sofi Khairul Fadzilah, 33, arrived one week later.
"We realised we had been deceived and were forced to work as scammers targeting people in Malaysia.
"Initially we were treated well but we were not paid.
"When we asked to return to Malaysia they threatened us that we had to pay them back RM30,000.
"Our workplace was later raided and eight Malaysians from Sarawak, including us, were arrested by Cambodian Immigration," she said in a press conference with Azalina, who is also Pengerang MP, in a hotel at Bandar Penawar near here on Saturday (Nov 9).
Azalina said she contacted Wisma Putra immediately when she heard that there were victims from her constituency.
She said they called the Cambodian Ambassador to discuss the case and it thankfully took just one week to get the duo home.
"They were lucky...otherwise we understand they would be jailed for six months," she said. – Bernama
