Man seeking job as satay griller tortured by scammers

JOHOR BARU: “I was forced to eat pork, drink alcohol, and was electrocuted with a stun device if I was slow in doing my ‘scam’ work.”

That was the harrowing account shared by a 36-year-old Malaysian who was recently rescued after being trafficked to Cambodia by a job scam syndicate.

The victim, who wished to be known only as Jo said he was lured to Cambodia with the promise of a job as a satay griller at a Malay-owned restaurant but ended up enslaved in a cyber scam syndicate.

Jo said his ordeal began when a friend, who had recently returned from China was seen driving a luxury car and suddenly offered him a job in Cambodia, claiming to pay USD1,500 (RM6,323) a month.

“He made the job offer for me to take up the job during the final week of Ramadan in March. Being a satay trader myself, I got excited and trusted his job offer. The offer seemed legitimate because the friend who recruited me was someone I had worked for before. We used to work together at his father’s restaurant here in Johor Baru long back,” he said.

On April 5, which was the sixth day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Jo said he flew to Cambodia with all expenses paid, including RM2,000 in pocket money.

“For the first three days, I stayed at a luxury hotel. On the third day, they took me out for entertainment and I blacked out. When I regained consciousness, I realised I was locked inside a heavily guarded building in Sihanoukville. That was when I found out, i was actually at a scam syndicate’s compound, or as we called it, a ‘prison’,” he said.

Jo said while he was held captive, he received a call from the friend who recommended him to the job. He said the friend admitted to receiving USD2,000 (RM8,429) as commission for every person he recruited and apologised to him.

Speaking at a press conference at the Skudai assemblyman’s community centre in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah today, Jo said he was among thousands of victims trapped and forced to work as scammers.

Each worker, he said, was required to bring in between RM50,000 and RM100,000 in scam profits every month.

“If I was late to work or stopped for a drink, they would electrocute me with a stun gun and lock me in a room with only a bottle of water. I was only paid USD200 (RM842) a month.

“There were victims from all over — Brazil, Arab countries, and even Russia. Men and women were kept together in a five-storey building and we were fed pork daily. At first, I refused to consume it but then when it was served for five days straight, I had no choice but to eat it,” Jo said.

“I was also forced to impersonate police officers and officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to deceive my victims. I was shocked to learn how easily Malaysians could be fooled by scammers. They even had an automated system with complete data on potential victims,” he said.

Jo described his escape as a second chance in life, saying he felt like he had died and come back to life after enduring four months of torture.

He said he and four other Malaysians seized their only chance to flee when the syndicate told them they would be transferred to the Laos border to work as forced labourers or beggars.

“That’s when we managed to contact Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim for help.

“Even while waiting for rescue, I kept thinking about whether I would survive. I didn’t know which would come first — help or death — or if we’d be trafficked again across the border,” he said.

Jo and his companions were finally rescued and safely brought home on Aug 16.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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