The man, who once worked as a cook in Johor, had spotted the advertisement on social media, Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper China Press reported.
02:17
China’s telecoms fraud crackdown with Myanmar may help workers trapped in scam rooms
China’s telecoms fraud crackdown with Myanmar may help workers trapped in scam rooms
“There were vacancies for chefs and waiters,” the man, whose surname is Zeng, was quoted as saying.
“I was interviewed over the phone by a Malaysian Chinese. Later in April, I flew to Bangkok.”
After he landed in Thailand, Zeng said a “recruiter” told him that he would be working in Chiang Rai, about 800km north of Bangkok.
‘Hell on Earth’: Malaysian’s death at 23 linked to Asia’s scam gangs
‘Hell on Earth’: Malaysian’s death at 23 linked to Asia’s scam gangs
Zeng was taken from there to an industrial complex in Myanmar, where his passport and phone were confiscated and he was forced to work as a scammer.
He said he was made to work 12 to 18 hours a day. If he failed to reach the daily “target”, he would be punished physically.
One day, a chance to escape occurred when the gates to the industrial complex opened in the midst of a battle between the military and armed groups in strife-torn Myanmar.
However, Zeng and several escapees were later captured, robbed by a militia group and forced to sleep in a pigsty.
Their money was taken away but their passports were returned to them, he said.
Zeng eventually got in touch with Malaysian organisations that arranged for their rescue.