By Dayangku Hidayatul
KUCHING, Oct 24: An 18-year-old Kuching boy—full of hopes and dreams—who thought he had landed a chef job in Singapore was instead lured into a job scam syndicate in Cambodia.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief Milton Foo explained that the victim’s father, who only wanted to be known as ‘Mr Chai’, had sought his help after discovering that his son was trapped in Cambodia.
“Upon my advice, Mr Chai went to lodge a police report and fill in the necessary forms under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The case was then forwarded to the Cambodian embassy to coordinate with local authorities for the rescue, which is the standard operating procedure (SOP),” he said during a press conference at his office here today.
The victim is the eldest of three siblings, who left for what he believed was Singapore on July 6, later shocked his parents when he revealed via video call the next day that he had actually landed in Cambodia.
According to his mother, her son’s close friend—who acted as a middleman—introduced him to the fake job after being promised a RM1,000 commission for successfully recruiting him.
She said the middleman, a 20-year-old car wash worker from 7th Mile here, remains in Sarawak but has been difficult to reach as he frequently changes his phone numbers.
Her son, who claimed to be working as an ‘office boy’, later told her that he needed to pay a ransom of USD8,000 (about RM35,000) to return home, warning that failure to pay by 11.30pm tonight (Oct 24) would mean ‘that’s the end’.
She said her son had been crying and begging for help, saying he feared for his life and wanted the authorities to ‘catch whoever recommended him’.
The mother also revealed that four Sarawakians—including her son—were sent to Cambodia through the same middleman and that one of them had reportedly been sold to another country.
Concerned for her son’s safety, she lodged a police report and provided details about the middleman to the police.
Foo assisted the family, urging authorities to act swiftly and for Malaysians to be cautious when offered jobs abroad—especially those promising high salaries.
He also called on the Immigration Department to issue stronger warnings at airports about human trafficking syndicates operating in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Dubai.
“Don’t bet your life because prevention is much better than cure,” said Foo, adding that several similar cases have been reported in recent years, leaving many parents in distress and some victims still missing. — DayakDaily
