KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): One of the 25 Malaysians rescued from a job scam syndicate in Myanmar on March 12 was arrested after police investigations revealed that he played a role in recruiting locals with the intention of scamming for big bucks.

Datuk Fadil Marsus, the deputy director (intelligence/operations) of the Criminal Investigation Department at Bukit Aman, said that the 20-year-old man was detained after the police conducted a screening and interrogation of all the victims who were brought back by bus from the Tak province, Thailand, on March 12.

“We keep on rescuing them all this while…but not all of them are victims. Out of the 25, only six individuals are genuine victims.

“These victims will be given an interim protection order, and during the investigation period, we will ensure their protection. Meanwhile, the others are not genuine victims. It is likely that they are recruiters, facilitators or [scam] workers who have been to the location before asking to be rescued,” he said during a press conference at Bukit Aman here on Monday.

He said the man would be remanded for seven days until March 20 for further investigation, and the police had opened five investigation papers under Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM) (Act 670) involving contingents from Kuala Lumpur and Johor.

The other rescued Malaysians are still under investigation, and genuine victims have been granted an interim protection order for 21 days.

On March 12, a total of 25 Malaysians who were victims of a job scam syndicate were repatriated via Mae Sot, Tak province, northern Thailand, after being handed over by Myanmar authorities to the Malaysian Embassy through Thai authorities.

Meanwhile, 489 police reports were received from Jan 1, 2021 to March 13, involving 637 individuals comprising 517 men and 120 women, aged between 22 and 39, being victims of overseas job scams, including in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

He stated that out of the total, 504 individuals were rescued, while 133 were still stranded abroad.

“Investigations found that 83% of the victims had an educational background up to the Malaysian Certificate of Education level and the primary mediums through which job offers were received were social media platforms, such as Facebook, Telegram, and WeChat, followed by invitations from friends or family.”

“A study by the Royal Malaysian Police also found that not all individuals rescued from human trafficking syndicates meet the definition of victims under the ATIPSOM Act,” he said.

Instead, he revealed that over 70% of them were aware of the types of jobs offered before arriving at their destination, including jobs related to crime such as scamming and gambling, indicating that they were not entirely deceived but feigned innocence after rescue.

Fadil stated that from 2022 until now, the ATIPSOM division (D3) had successfully dismantled six syndicates recruiting Malaysians for such jobs.

He also advised the public to always be cautious of overseas job offers through social media, which often promise lucrative salaries and benefits to lure prospective victims.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee