JOHOR BARU: A 36-year-old man was lured by his close friend with the promise of a lucrative job to promote satay overseas, only to end up trapped in a scam syndicate in Cambodia.
After arriving in Cambodia, the victim, known only as Jo, said he was forced to cheat Malaysians or risk getting beaten up or tased.
"I was approached by my friend, who drives a luxury car, in March. We were close as I used to serve satay at his father’s restaurant.
"I was promised a job selling satay in Cambodia with a monthly salary of USD1,500 (RM6,322) and I believed him," he said during a press conference organised by Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim on Monday (Oct 27).
Jo said he left for Phnom Penh in the first week of Hari Raya Aidilfitri in April after being given RM2,000 in pocket money and paid flight tickets.
"I was treated to a three-day hotel stay and then taken to entertainment lounges where we were served drinks.
"I started feeling dizzy and lost awareness of my surroundings. When I came to, I was already in a building that looked like a prison, which I later found out was Sihanoukville," he said, adding that he was among five Malaysians brought there to become call centre operators for a scam syndicate.
He added that they were made to impersonate government officers and follow scripts to scam victims in Malaysia.
"We were watched round-the-clock by supervisors and close circuit television cameras, and punished with electric tasers if we disobeyed orders or failed to meet our targets.
"We worked from 10am to 2am daily. If we were late by even one minute or took a short water break, we would be tasered and our pay cut.
"We were only given one meal a day and one bottle of boiled water," he said, adding that men and women were housed together and given pork and alcohol despite religious restrictions.
Jo said the turning point came when he was told that he would be sold to the borders of Laos or Vietnam as a beggar or forced labour.
At a turn of events, he eventually managed to reach out to Marina for help through Facebook after a syndicate member allowed them temporary access to mobile phones.
"It was a race against time - either the police rescued us first, or we would be sold across the border, which I doubt I would make it out alive," he said, adding that he was safely repatriated to Kuala Lumpur in mid-August with the help of Wisma Putra and the Embassy of Malaysia in Phnom Penh.
He urged youths not to believe job offers that sound too good to be true, unless there are strong proofs and documents to back up the offer.
"I am grateful to be back, but I live in fear that someone might come after me. I just want to start an honest life again," said Jo.
