Teen lured by false promise of well-paid job

SHAH ALAM - Deceived by promises of a high salary as a hotel room cleaner in Singapore, a 19-year-old teenager ended up becoming a victim of a human trafficking syndicate.

The victim, who preferred to only be identified as Mira said apart from the income offer of US$1,100 (RM5,194.24), all expenses such as accommodation and travel to the destination were covered by the job agent.

Mira who hailed from Skudai, Johor Bahru said initially she was informed that the agent had arranged for a van to take her to Singapore.

Her hopes were shattered when she was not only forced to work as a scammer in KK Garden, Myawaddy, Myanmar, but also had to pay RM60,000 as compensation if she wished to leave the place.

She said the compensation was imposed on victims using the back route through the Thailand-Malaysia border in Kelantan, while those taking the front route were charged RM40,000.

Recounting her ordeal at the scammer's operational centre, Mira admitted feeling suspicious from the early stages when the van travelled through the Kelantan-Thailand border.

Despite feeling uneasy and scared to see the routes throughout the journey, she remained silent, fearing for her safety if she asked too many questions.

"The journey took about a week due to many hidden routes," she said.

Before entering KK Garden, Mira disclosed that the syndicate group first took them to the Thailand-Myanmar border, Mae Sot.

During the journey, they were instructed to change vehicles to confuse the authorities.

"It was only upon arrival that I and the other victims were informed that our actual job was to be scammers," Mira said.