Job Scam: Five victims arrive home safely

KUALA LUMPUR: Five Malaysians who fell victim to a job scam syndicate in Myanmar arrived safely at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Thailand yesterday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (KLN) in a statement today said that the victims managed to flee to Thailand and were rescued by the local authorities before going through the deportation process.

"The victims aged between 19 and 26 were accompanied back home by officers from KLN and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) who were on a working visit to Thailand from Feb 16-19," read the statement.

Meanwhile, Malaysia expressed its appreciation to the Thai government for the good cooperation in helping to locate and rescue Malaysian citizens as well as speeding up the process of repatriating them.

According to the statement, Wisma Putra has brought back a total of 382 Malaysian citizens who fell victim to the syndicate in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

"KLN takes this issue very seriously and urges the public to lodge a report with the police and KLN if any family members are suspected of falling victim to job syndicates overseas.

"KLN would like to advise the public to be wary of job offers abroad offering lucrative salaries, especially those received through social media, mobile applications, or websites," it added.

-- BERNAMA