NARATHIWAT – A group of 58 Thai workers seeking jobs in Malaysia have returned to Thailand after they found out the jobs they were promised in Terengganu state did not exist.
The group arrived via the Sungai Kolok border crossing early Monday morning, where social officials were waiting to assist them.
The Thai workers, from the North, Northeast and Central regions, sought assistance from the Thai consulate-general's office in Kota Baru after spending almost a month in Malaysia without getting the work they were promised.
They had each paid 21,000 baht in fees to a job broker in Pattani they knew only as “Dam” and had been in Malaysia since April 20.
A worker in the group who would like to be identified only as Thaksin said the job broker in Malaysia put them up in rented rooms in Dungun, in Terengganu. They were provided with food, but when the broker was asked about the jobs they were promised he avoided giving answers.
They eventually realised there was something irregular about the work arrangement and decided to seek assistance from the consulate-general to return home.
The man said they now needed to find work to pay off the loans they raised to pay the broker's fees.
They willall be question by the authorities to help determine if their broker had links with human trafficking gangs.