"Help Him" – Mother Begs As Cambodia Job Scam Syndicate Threatens To Sell Her Son's Organs
She said her son left to Cambodia after he was falsely promised a salary of RM8,000 to RM9,000 per month.
By May Vin Ang — 15 Jun 2022, 05:48 PM
A mother from Penang is begging for her son to be rescued after he fell victim to a job scam and is now being held hostage in Cambodia
According to Bernama, 39-year-old Tay Poh Chai was deceived by a job offer that promised a salary of RM8,000 to RM9,000 per month in the online gambling industry and headed off to Cambodia in December last year.
His mother, 68-year-old Khor Cha Bo, said their family strongly advised him against going.
"My son worked as a part-time electrician here. He was enticed to go to Cambodia by his friend because the salary was good," she said at a press conference organised by Bukit Mertajam member of Parliament (MP) Steven Sim yesterday, 14 June.
Now she is pleading with the government, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police, to help bring her son back home
"While there, we were in touch a few times and he said that everything was okay... until 28 May when he contacted us via WeChat and asked for help to pay USD15,000 (approximately RM66,000) to his employer, who didn't think he was suited for the job anymore," she said.
The mother said the employer told her that Tay was not performing up to expectations and have sacked him, and their family has to pay the compensation for his release, or his organs will be sold.
"The employer threatened to sell my son's organs if we failed to reimburse them. We are very worried and scared for him. That's why we're asking the government and authorities for help to save him."
Khor added that her son told her that he had little money left to buy food and that he was being detained in a heavily guarded place.
Tay's brother, Poh Heng, said his brother had also been electrocuted while being held captive and that there were many other Malaysians there in the same situation.
Sim said he has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as he found out about the threats from the victim's family
"I've given them all the information they need and the Foreign Minister's office said they have contacted the embassy in Cambodia to help the Malaysian victms," he said.
"My only advice to people is to check with the authorities before they accept a job overseas to avoid becoming a victim of this syndicate."
In April this year, 12 Malaysian job scam victims were rescued from Cambodia as a result of close cooperation between the Royal Malaysia Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cambodian Police, Interpol, and Aseanapol.
The victims were falsely promised lucrative jobs through Facebook, and as soon as they arrived in the country, they were forced to work as online scammers for no pay and had their travel documents seized. The victims were also beaten, slapped, and abused with electric shocks if they resisted.
