Hong Kong man snared twice by job scams in Thailand and trafficked to Myanmar, lawmaker reveals
- Danger signal huge salaries not always used for job scams overseas, Hong Kong lawmaker warns
- Man in his 30s flees fake Thai casino job, but ends up trafficked to Myanmar after he applies for low-paid clerical role
A Hong Kong man trafficked in Thailand and later hoodwinked with the offer of a clerical post with a salary of just HK$10,000 (US$1,274) proved job scams in Southeast Asian countries were not just advertised with suspiciously large salaries, a lawmaker said on Monday.
Elizabeth Quat, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the victim, who is in his 30s and had approached her for help, went to Thailand in July after he was hired for a high-paying casino job, but fled after he discovered it was a scam.
But the legislator explained the man could not immediately return to Hong Kong because he was unable to book a quarantine hotel, so tried to get another job in the area and was offered a clerical post with such a low salary he believed it could not be a scam.
“When he went to work, he found out it was a fraudulent job again and asked to leave. The staff said they would drive him back to the city but as soon as he got in the car he was kidnapped and imprisoned for more than 20 days,” Quat said.
“There were gunmen stationed at the scene, making it difficult to escape.”
Quat added that the man was later sold to another criminal enterprise in Myanmar, where he was forced to say that he had volunteered to work there.