KUCHING, April 26 ― The Sarawak police today obtained a four-day remand order against a 26-year old man to facilitate investigation into a Cambodian job scam last year.

Magistrate Aida Montong gave the order following an application by investigating officer Assistant Superintendent of Police Pricha Azin, who told the court that the police needed time to conduct their investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

The remand order expires on April 30.

The suspect has been on the run since February and was detained by the police yesterday afternoon at the Kuching International Airport upon his arrival from Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

He is the sixth suspect nabbed for allegedly cheating 41 Malaysians to work in Cambodia.

The police have so far charged one man, a cook, who is currently on a RM10,000 court bail.

Another four suspects have been released on police bail.

They are suspected to be the local facilitator for an international syndicate recruiting people for  ‘jobs’ in the hospitality industry in Cambodia.

The six were among 47 Malaysians detained by the Cambodian police for operating an online gambling syndicate .

The Malaysians, who lived in two separate houses in Poipet, were arrested together with eight Chinese nationals in a raid by the Cambodian police on December 11, 2018.

They were then detained in the Banteay Meanchey provincial prison until their release on February 15, 2019, with the assistance of the Sarawak government and Malaysian foreign ministry.

The victims had arrived in batches in Cambodia after being lured by a US$1,500 (RM6,535) monthly salary.

However, upon arrival, their phones and personal documents were confiscated, and they were not allowed out of the house.

Charges against the Malaysians, for running illegal online gambling operations, were dropped after the intervention of Hun Sen, who learned that they were victims of a syndicate.