KUCHING: The dreams of two local residents seeking lucrative jobs abroad turned into a nightmare after they fell victim to job scams.
The victims, identified as 23-year-old Mr Kueh and 37-year-old Ms Hou, had travelled to Thailand with the promise of high-paying jobs but ended up in a perilous situation in Myanmar.
For Kueh’s case, he had informed his 19-year-old girlfriend that he was heading for Thailand as he had secured a supposed job as a lorry driver with an enticing salary of RM7,000 per trip.
Upon his arrival, he was picked up and taken to lunch before embarking on a long journey.
Sensing something amiss, he informed his girlfriend, sharing his location at Myawaddy near KK Park.
When met by reporters, Kueh’s girlfriend Chen said the last time she was in contact with her boyfriend was via text around midnight on Sunday (June 23).
“He was informing me of his location at the time, which was near the Myanmar border.
“Kueh was in a vehicle with a driver and he was not aware that he was being cheated.
“We lost contact when he crossed the Myanmar border. I tried to contact him but there was no answer,” she said after lodging reports with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar yesterday (June 25).
Chen learned from a friend around 1.30am that her boyfriend had indeed been scammed in Myanmar.
She added that Kueh, who used to work in the tourism sector in the peninsula, was lured to Thailand by the promise of a high salary.
Meanwhile, for Hou’s case, she informed her father on May 13 that she would be going to Bangkok the next day (May 14) after securing a job as an administration officer.
Her father told reporters that his daughter used to work in the accounting sector before she came across the high paying job in Thailand.
“I warned my daughter that she could get easily cheated in Thailand but, she still proceeded with the trip.
“My daughter worked in Thailand for the first two days. After that, the company decided to stop her job and transfer her to another company.
“She was also told that she needed to pay RM20,000 if she wants to return home,” he said.
Hou was later transferred to Myanmar, ending up in the same location at Myawaddy near KK Park.
Since then, there has been no updates from Hou on her situation.
Currently, Kueh’s girlfriend and Hou’s father are receiving assistance from the Bandar Kuching parliamentary service centre as they seek to resolve their loved ones’ plight in Myanmar.
