A bundle of lies: Jo showing the employment card that he was given to allegedly work as a satay seller in Cambodia.
JOHOR BARU: A 36-year-old man thought he was getting a lucrative job offer to promote satay overseas, only to end up getting trapped in a scam syndicate in Cambodia.
After arriving there, the victim, known only as Jo, said he was forced to cheat Malaysians or risk getting beaten up or tased by syndicate members.
“I was approached by my friend in March – I trusted him because we were close and I used to serve satay at his father’s restaurant here.
“He also drove a luxury car and I wanted to change my life for the better. I believed him when he promised that I could earn a monthly salary of US$1,500 (RM6,322),” he said during a press conference organised by Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim yesterday.
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 flight tickets.
“I was among five Malaysians who were 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, we were already in a building that looked like a prison, which I later found out was Sihanoukville,” he said.
He added that they were made to impersonate government officers and follow scripts to scam victims in Malaysia.
“We were being watched round-the-clock by supervisors and closed 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.
After working there for about four months, Jo said he was told that he would be sold to the borders of Laos or Vietnam as a beggar or forced labour while the younger workers would have their organs sold.
At a turn of events, he 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, where I doubt I would make it out alive,” he said, adding that he and the other four men were safely repatriated to Kuala Lumpur in mid-August with the help of Wisma Putra and the Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh.
He urged youths not to believe job offers that sound too good to be true, unless there is strong proof 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.
Marina said she had received eight similar cases this year involving Malaysians from all over the country trapped in scam syndicates overseas, including in Cambodia and Taiwan.
“Many are lured by friends promising high salaries without realising they are being trafficked.
“So far, two victims have been successfully brought home,” she said, reminding the public to verify any overseas job offer, no matter how convincing it sounds, before accepting.
