What began as an overseas job opportunity turned into a year-long nightmare for a 26-year-old Malaysian who was forced to work for an online scam syndicate in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
The victim, who wanted to be known only as Chew, said he was among 31 Malaysians safely repatriated on December 20 after being rescued from a scam compound during a security raid by Myanmar authorities.
Chew, who works as a ground staff member for an airline company at Singapore’s Changi Airport, said his ordeal began on October 1, 2024, when he came across a social media advertisement by a Thai-based e-commerce company offering trading opportunities for Malaysians.
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“After expressing interest, I was told to fly to Bangkok, where I would be taken to the company’s warehouse,” he told a press conference in Johor on Wednesday.
Chew said he booked a flight to Bangkok via Changi Airport and arrived on October 4, where a Thai man at the airport picked him up.
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However, he was later told that the warehouse in Bangkok had flooded due to flash floods and that he would instead be taken to another warehouse in Tak, a town between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.