Malaysian job scam victims returning to homeland after detention in Cambodia

KUALA LUMPUR: The seven Malaysian victims of a job scam are returning to their homeland on Friday after enduring nearly two months of detention at a Cambodian immigration detention centre.

The group, detained by the immigration authorities after escaping from a human trafficking syndicate in early September, will depart the Phnom Penh International Airport this afternoon after the Sihanoukville Immigration Department permitted them to leave Cambodia.

Most of the victims are from Sarawak, with five of them being female.

“The immigration officer here told us we can return home. We are excited to go back home and see our families again but this was a terrible, bitter experience for us,” Nathalya Ivy, one of the victims from Kuching, told Bernama by phone from her Sihanoukville detention centre on Thursday.

The Malaysians were offered attractive jobs in casinos in the coastal province of Sihanoukville by a syndicate and arrived in May to accept these offers.

However, what they believed to be their dream jobs quickly turned into a nightmare. Instead of working in casinos, they were deceived and sent to online scamming centres to work as scammers, said Nathalya.

“It has been very difficult days for us and our families. Never take job offers through telephones or if anyone promises high-paying jobs overseas without doing proper checks. We are glad to go home and continue working in Malaysia,” she said.

Besides the seven, another three Malaysian job scam victims held previously will also be returning home today.

The Public Complaint Bureau Chief of Sarawak United Peoples’ Party, Milton Foo Tiang Wee, confirmed the group’s release and said the quick repatriation was due to government-to-government efforts.

“I was informed by the Malaysian Embassy (in Phnom Penh) on 28 October that our fellow Sarawakians can go back home on 1 November.

“I urge all Malaysians to be extra cautious about any high-paying jobs offered overseas due to the rise of human trafficking cases in recent years.

“Never trust any job advertisements or high-return investment scheme in social media to avoid falling into the abyss of online scam syndicates,” Foo told Bernama in a telephone interview from Kuching on Thursday.