Trapped and tortured: Malaysians tell of job scam nightmare
Rescued victims recount horrific abuse, including electrocution and beatings, after being lured to Burma by job syndicates
TAK, Thailand (MNTV) — What began as a promising job opportunity abroad turned into a living nightmare for dozens of Malaysians, who found themselves trapped, beaten, and electrocuted by job scam syndicates in Burma.
Among them is Teo, a 45-year-old translator from Johor, who was deceived by an online job posting in August 2023.
Promised a translator position in Bangkok with a trading company, he arrived in Thailand expecting a brief work trip. Instead, his journey took a dark turn.
After landing in Bangkok, Teo was shuttled between vehicles for six hours before being forced across a river into Burma.
Once inside, he was ordered to work as a scammer, sifting through 10,000 phone numbers daily for a criminal syndicate.
His only compensation was a meagre living allowance of 5,000 baht for the first three months. Attempts to resist or escape were met with brutal punishment.
“I was electrocuted more than 10 times and tortured almost every week,” Teo recounted. “They called it an ‘office,’ but it was nothing more than a prison.”
His harrowing tale is echoed by others, including 29-year-old Mohd Shahidan from Kuala Lumpur.
His job was to scrape social media for contact details and initiate at least 70 daily chats with unsuspecting targets. Failure meant electric shocks and caning.
Nineteen-year-old Ong from Penang suffered a similar fate. A man claiming to be Taiwanese lured her with the promise of a high-paying job in Thailand, only for her to be trafficked into Burma without travel documents.
“We were punished with caning, forced to do push-ups, or locked in a dark room if we didn’t meet the syndicate’s demands,” she said.
The nightmare finally ended when Burma authorities cracked down on the criminal networks, leading to the rescue of 320 foreign victims, including Malaysians.
Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin has vowed to tackle the growing crisis, stating that as this year’s ASEAN Chair, Malaysia will prioritise eradicating job scam syndicates operating across Southeast Asia.
Enhanced cooperation through the ASEAN police organisation (ASEANAPOL) is also in the works to combat this transnational crime.
For now, the survivors are left to heal, their stories serving as a grim warning about the dangers of online job scams.
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