Lucky escape: A total of 25 Malaysians rescued from job scam syndicates in Myanmar return to the country via the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint.
PETALING JAYA: A total of 25 Malaysians trapped in job scam syndicates operating in Myawaddy, Myanmar, have been successfully repatriated, says the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The ministry said the group arrived at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, and Security complex on Tuesday where they were handed over to the police for further checks.
“The repatriation was made possible through coordinated efforts by the Malaysian embassies in Yangon and Bangkok, with the cooperation of the ministry, the police force, the Immigration Department, and the Consulate-General of Malaysia in Songkhla,” Wisma Putra said yesterday.
This marks the second successful repatriation of Malaysians trapped in such scam syndicates in Myanmar, following a similar operation on Feb 24 where 15 Malaysians were brought home.
The ministry expressed its gratitude to the governments of Thailand and Myanmar for their support in securing the victims’ safe return and reiterated its commitment to assisting Malaysians abroad.
The 25 people, comprising 23 men and two women aged between 21 and 47, were rescued from the syndicates and repatriated via Mae Sot, Tak province, in northern Thailand.
On Tuesday, Bernama quoted Johan Ariff Abdul Razak, who is the charge d’affaires of Malaysia to Myanmar, as saying that Myanmar authorities had handed over the victims to the Malaysian Embassy through Thai authorities that day.
They departed Mae Sot at about 2pm local time and were due to reach Bukit Kayu Hitam the following day, he said.
Malaysia’s charge d’affaires ad interim to Thailand, Bong Yik Jui, was also quoted as saying that embassy officials in Bangkok had assisted all the victims in contacting their families in Malaysia and in issuing temporary travel documents.
He said embassy officers had accompanied the group throughout the more than 20-hour journey from Tak province to the Malaysia-Thailand border.
The operation came amid efforts to rescue foreign nationals trapped in scam operations based in Myanmar.
On March 6, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry announced plans to repatriate up to 1,500 people per week from these syndicates.
