SEPANG, Nov 17 — A 24-year-old Malaysian man who was lured overseas with a fake casino job offer, has been rescued from a human trafficking syndicate in Cambodia and brought home yesterday by the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO).

The former lorry driver identified only as Rao shared how he came to journey from his Skudai, Johor home to Poipet, Cambodia, which has become a human trafficking hub for scammers.

He related being recruited by a friend in Johor who claimed to have “connections” and promised him a salary of US$1,000 (RM4,132.50) at a foreign casino, Harian Metro reported last night.

Rao said he worked at the casino for three days before being moved elsewhere and forced into a job scamming Malaysians into buying non-existent goods.

“I wasn’t interested in doing that work, and that was when the syndicate, run by Chinese nationals, started torturing me and demanded RM30,000 in ransom if I wanted to be freed,” he was quoted as saying at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here yesterday.

Rao said the torture included having his legs bound, being hung upside down nude, and being locked in a dark room.

His family had earlier told the press that Rao had left for Cambodia on October 27 to take up the supposed casino job.

They said he had managed to tell them he wanted to return home but the agent demanded RM30,000 for his release.

They filed a report at the Skudai police station on November 7.

MHO secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said the family had attended a press conference last Friday to highlight Rao’s disappearance and explained how he had been persuaded to work in Laos, also supposedly at a casino, before being smuggled into Cambodia.

“After that press conference, MHO received information about six Malaysians who had become victims of human trafficking,” he was quoted as saying.

He said MHO then coordinated with Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior and a local task force to free the victims, but the syndicate released only two of them, including Rao.

He added that the other trafficking victim is expected to arrive in Malaysia at noon today.