Initial probe shows 47 were victims of job scam: CID chief
KUCHING: There appears to be no element of human trafficking in the case of the 40 Sarawakian victims who were arrested in Cambodia for their involvement in illegal activities in December last year.
Sarawak Head of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) SAC Denis Leong Soon Kuai said initial investigations did not unearth any element of human trafficking.
“We will do a thorough investigation but from what we gathered at the moment, it appears to be leaning towards job scam rather than human trafficking,” he said.
Leong said CID police had interviewed the victims and found that some victims had been to Cambodia before.
Some victims, according to him, had had their statements recorded and the relevant information passed to the Commercial Crime Department for further action.
Saying he was constrained from revealing too much detail, Leong assured that the CID will be compiling its investigation report.
Forty-seven Malaysians were lured to Cambodia by offers of lucrative jobs but were said to be locked up in a bungalow where they were conducting illegal online gambling activities.
Three suspects have been arrested and detained by the Police Commercial Crime Department.
Leong said he hoped to wrap up the investigation in two weeks’ time.
