KOTA TINGGI, Dec 31 — Despite being forcefully held against his will by a scam syndicate in Myanmar for more than a year, a 26-year-old man counts his blessings as he was rescued by authorities earlier this month.

“It never occurred to me that we would be rescued. My freedom and being back in Malaysia is the best New Year gift for me and my parents.

“What was to be a three to four day trip for my business venture last year, turned into a nightmare after I was duped, abducted, abused and forced into working for a scam syndicate in Myanmar for almost a year.

“I was forcefully made to scam other victims in a shop house located in the Myanmar town of Myawaddy that borders Thailand, before I was rescued by authorities in late December,” said the victim, who only wanted to be known by his surname of Chew.

Chew was narrating his ordeal to the media at the Hawker City food court here today. 

He was also accompanied by Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen Kah Eng, who has highlighted such foreign job scams in the past.

Chew, who hails from Kota Tinggi, said he always wanted to have his own business and was prepared to start off on his own in 2024 with his savings after years of working in Singapore.

He said his ordeal started in October 1 last year after he came across a Facebook advertisement that offered an opportunity for his budding online business.

“The advertisement offered competitively priced goods through a warehouse in Myanmar that offered various items, including food and perfume.

“Not wanting to miss such an opportunity, I immediately arranged a flight to Myanmar at my own expense, departing from Changi International Airport in Singapore on October 3.

“However, my flight had to transit in Bangkok, Thailand where a Thai man, who is believed to be part of the syndicate, picked me up at the airport. I was then told that the new plan was to travel to Myanmar by land on the same day.

“I was then forcibly abducted by the Thai man while we were in a hamlet called Tak, that was between Bangkok and Chiang Mai,” he said, adding that he was later brought over the border to a two-storey shop house in Myawaddy in Myanmar under strict guard.

Chew said he lived like a prisoner, confined with about 60 other Malaysians and forced to scam Hong Kong citizens over the phone.

He said they were all made to communicate with their victims in Cantonese as it is native to Hong Kong.

“We were the first line of contact and once the victim fell for the scam, the calls will be transferred to a second line of scam operators.

“It was not an easy task as we would be physically tortured and receive electric shocks as punishment for failing to reach our targets. In worst cases, we would be locked up and starved for our failures.

“I remembered that for the first 30 days I was forced to find 30 victims in a day by making fake sales of goods and also love scams," he said.

After almost a year, Chew said that the syndicate decided to sell them to another scam syndicate as he claimed that his group’s performance was below expectations.

However, he said luck smiled on them on that day after the transporter that they were in was stopped during a raid by Myanmar authorities on December 19.

“We were rescued and brought over the border to Thailand where the Thai authorities repatriated us at the Bukit Kayu Hitam customs immigration and quarantine (CIQ) building in Kedah at 6.50pm on December 20,” he said.

Chen said that he took up the case after Chew’s family approached him for assistance in locating him after he disappeared for several months.

He advised those going abroad for business ventures or even trips to discuss it with family or friends beforehand as a precaution.

“If possible, don’t travel alone to unknown countries. In such cases, the best is to travel with a friend who is familiar with the country,” he said.

Hundreds of Malaysians have been reported to be duped into job scams by foreign syndicates where they end up in scam centres operating in Myanmar.

Last week, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the welfare of Malaysian nationals abroad and, through its diplomatic missions, will continue to provide consular assistance whenever required.