Hong Kong police arrest 5 for allegedly luring at least 36 residents into forced labour in Southeast Asia
- Police say number of residents who had been held captive in Southeast Asia has risen to 36, with 22 still in need of rescue
- Five suspects believed to part of same syndicate which tricked residents into doing forced labour in Southeast Asia with promises of employment, force adds
Hong Kong police have arrested five residents for allegedly luring at least 36 people into travelling to Southeast Asia in an employment scam where they were held captive and forced to work illegally.
The force announced the arrests on Sunday, three days after its organised crime and triad bureau took over investigations into dozens of cases of Hongkongers being detained against their will in the region as a result of employment or relationships scams.
The human trafficking crisis, which has flared up on social media, has put the new Hong Kong administration led by former security chief John Lee Ka-chiu to the test, as it faced mounting calls to bring the victims home safely and step up efforts to protect residents from organised crime syndicates abroad.
The Chinese foreign ministry also stepped in by pledging to work with embassies and foreign governments in searching for those missing.
Senior Superintendent Tony Ho Chun-tung of the bureau said the employment scammers advertised jobs on social media offering high salaries and low entry requirements, with most of the fake positions in gaming, real estate or just opening bank accounts.
Soon after arriving in the Southeast Asia countries, the victims would have their passports taken away and be transferred to “scamming centres”, he said, with anyone who refused to cooperate or pay a ransom subject to inhumane treatment.