More Chinese victims plucked from cross-border cyberscams in Myanmar

China’s embassy in Myanmar reports ‘multiple’ rescues of nationals forced to work in online crime rings

Telecoms fraudsters have targeted victims from across Southeast Asia with promises of easy money

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The Chinese embassy says it activated an emergency plan in cooperation with the Myanmar authorities to rescue “multiple” people. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:20pm, 15 May 2023

China’s embassy in Myanmar said more Chinese nationals who were lured to Myanmar by cross-border cyberscams had been rescued, days after the foreign minister urged Naypyidaw to crack down on telecoms fraud.

According to a statement released by the embassy, “multiple Chinese nationals” who had been duped by promises of high-paying jobs had been smuggled into Myawaddy, a southeastern town near the border with Thailand, where they were forced to participate in online scams.

“After receiving the request for help, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar immediately activated the emergency plan and coordinated with the Myanmar police to carry out the rescue,” the statement said, adding that all trafficking victims had been safely extricated.

The embassy said it cooperated with local authorities to return the victims, and urged other victims and their families to report cross-border fraud cases to the police and embassy.

The number of human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia rose sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic and people from many other countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam and the Philippines, have also been targeted.

Earlier this month, Indonesian and Philippine authorities rescued more than 1,000 victims, including people from Hong Kong and mainland China. A Chinese victim in Tachileik, another border town in Myanmar, was rescued by the embassy in April.

Many victims have claimed they were beaten, electrocuted and starved by gangs if they failed to reach certain targets.