KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should be wary of the job offer scams used by human trafficking syndicates to trap them overseas.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong warned the public not to fall prey to these syndicates and end up being detained to work under undesirable conditions.
The syndicates would then demand money from the victims' relatives to release them.
Chong said over 185 Malaysians had fallen victim to such syndicates this year alone. He said the cases include 86 from Cambodia, 57 from Myanmar and 18 from Laos.
He said many victims were aware and suspicious of their destinations, but they still chose to discover the harsh reality by going to the foreign countries.
"I believe the cases I received, half of them do know where they were going. They voluntarily go there and find out the truth after becoming trapped," he said during the press conference at Wisma MCA here today.
"Cases from Myanmar and Laos are particularly challenging to resolve as retrieving victims from these locations is difficult. In some instances, even after paying ransoms, the victims never return," he said.
Present with him were relatives of three human-trafficking syndicate victims.
One complainant, Lee Kim Lian, claimed that she received WeChat messages from her son saying he had been detained in Myanmar and needed to raise money for his release.
Another complainant, Wong Fook Chin, said he received a Whatsapp message from an unknown number saying that his son had also been detained. The message didn't specify the amount required, but asked how much money he could pay.
Meanwhile, Sia Soon Seng said he was a friend of the third victim. He said he had received a call from the victim saying that he needed help to raise RM100,000 for his release from Myanmar. Sia immediately called the victim's mother and asked her to lodge a report.