PETALING JAYA: Victims of a job scam syndicate in Myanmar were tortured with electric shock devices, beaten, forced to stand under the hot sun and ordered to run non-stop.
They were locked up and forced to work without salaries for two years, before they were rescued and brought back to Malaysia last month.
One of the victims who only wanted to be identified as Ah-Huat, 29, said he was duped by an overseas job offer promising a lucrative salary.
According to him, in 2022 he spotted a job advertisement for an Information Technology-related job that offered a salary between RM8,000 and RM10,000 per month.
"I had a job interview via video call before being told I was successful and had to report to Bangkok, Thailand. They also provided me with a flight ticket.
"Upon arriving at Don Mueang International Airport, Thailand, I was received by two armed Myanmar men and ordered to board a vehicle driven by a local man.
"My passport and mobile phone were taken from me and I was immediately taken to the Thailand-Myanmar border. I was then taken across the river into Myanmar before arriving at a location in Myawaddy," he said at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) here today.
Also present were PKR Segambut branch deputy chief Deric Teh and MHO liaison officer Daniel Khoo.
Ah Huat added that he was given a mobile phone and a list of phone numbers to contact and he had to reach the targetted number of victims set by the manager every day.
He said, if they fail to reach the set target they were forced to work non-stop until they reached the target.
He said he had once worked 72 hours without a break.
"If any of us fell asleep while working, we will surely be tortured and fined by standing in the sun, lifting stones and running non-stop.
"I tried to run but it didn't work. I was ordered to pay about RM240,000 if I wanted to be released," he said.
However, he said, he managed to contact his family before the syndicate moved him to a location in Cambodia last January.
His family had then asked for help from the government and MHO before he was finally rescued and brought back to Malaysia last month.
Khoo hoped the government will take more decisive action to prevent more people from falling victim to these job scam syndicates.
He said MHO received two new cases involving victims of overseas employment scams last week and they were working to help bring them home.