Fake job offers in Cambodia: Four more Malaysians brought home

SEPANG: Four more Malaysians who were allegedly duped by syndicates that offered high-paying jobs in Cambodia were brought home today.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) deputy director (intelligence/operations) Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said they were among the 54 Malaysians who had fallen victim to such job scam syndicates and had been rescued so far.

"There are five more Malaysians who are still in Cambodia and being held the authorities there.

"They have to go through the legal documentation process before being allowed to return to the country," he told reporters after the arrival of the four Malaysians, aged between 29 and 41, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here today.

Hussein said the syndicate's modus operandi was to offer victims a job that promised a lucrative salary at call centres in Cambodia via social networking sites such as Facebook and WeChat.

"When they (Malaysians) arrive there (Cambodia), the situation is not like what they have been promised. The victims then realised they have been deceived but were not allowed to return to Malaysia.

"There are also victims who claimed to have received threats and been physically abused," said Hussein who did not rule out the possibility of Malaysians colluding with such syndicates in Cambodia.

He said so far, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) had received 156 reports involving 189 Malaysians who were stranded abroad after being duped by job scam syndicates.

"Based on our records, 135 of them are still stranded abroad and we are tracking down their whereabouts with the cooperation of the relevant authorities in that countries," he said.

Hussein said most of the victims found themselves stranded in Cambodia which accounts for 40 per cent of the total cases, followed by Myanmar and Laos.

He said the success of bringing the four Malaysians home was a result of the continuous cooperation between PDRM and the Cambodian authorities, as well as Wisma Putra, Interpol and ASEAN Police.

It was reported that on April 11, 12 Malaysians who were held captive in Cambodia after being duped by a lucrative job offer as customer service officers were safely repatriated and four others arrived safely in the country on April 19.

-- BERNAMA