The remaining four of the 16 Malaysians who claimed to be victims of a job scam syndicate in Cambodia arrived safely in the country at 4.35 pm yesterday from Phnom Penh.

The Foreign Ministry said the four were unable to join the other 12 on the return flight on April 11 because they tested positive for COVID-19 before departure.

"They were allowed to return to Malaysia after undergoing a seven-day quarantine in Cambodia under the supervision of the Malaysian Embassy there," Wisma Putra said in a post on its official Facebook account today.

The Foreign Ministry also expressed its appreciation to the Cambodian government and the close cooperation given by the Malaysian Embassy in facilitating the relevant matters to enable them to return home safely. The four arrived at Kuala Lumpur international airport 2 (klia2).

Apart from that, Wisma Putra also advised Malaysians to always be careful about job offers abroad to ensure that they are not trapped by job scam syndicates.

The victims claimed that they had been offered attractive jobs but once in Cambodia they were kept in prison like conditions and forced to to make telephone calls to con people of their money using modes somewhat like the Macau scam.

Malaysian missions abroad are always ready to provide appropriate advice on the matter as well as assist Malaysian citizens who are in difficulty, the ministry said.

The success in bringing home all the 16 Malaysians was the result of close cooperation between the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Cambodian police, ASEAN Police (Aseanapol) and Wisma Putra.

-- BERNAMA