SA KAEO: Nine Thai nationals who fell victim to a Chinese trafficking scheme in Cambodia have been rescued but they say 200 of their compatriots are still trapped.
Eight men and one woman, aged between 23 and 47 years, were rescued by Immigration Bureau police and Ranger Forces Company 1201 officers at the border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district on Monday, police said on Tuesday.
The ranger company organised the operation after receiving a message from Facebook users about the group.
The victims were seen with visible wounds and cuts, with one having a slash on his leg and another having the same kind of deep cut on his hand, police said.
The soldiers contacted the Sawang Thieng Tham Foundation to bring the victims to local hospitals for treatment. They were then taken to Ranger Forces Company 1201 headquarters for further questioning.
Phoompat Chairat, 27, one of the victims, said the group had been tricked by a Chinese-backed call centre scam gang, which promised them jobs with a stock trading company in Poipet, Cambodia.
They were promised a high wage and travel expenses, he said.
The group entered Cambodia by foot. But when they arrived, they learned they would be working as call centre scammers, Mr Phoompat said.
They were kept with at least 200 other Thais on the seventh floor of the 25-storey Puli Casino building in Poipet. Their phones were seized and they were not allowed to venture outside, he said.
They were physically abused by their employers if they did not do the job properly. According to Mr Phoompat, some female victims were pressured to work as prostitutes.
The group, along with two other colleagues for a total of 11, decided to prepare for an escape after learning they were about to be sold to a group in Beijing.
They managed to flee the building by setting fire to their bedroom at 3am but two were caught and taken back by a security guard.
The group made it to the border and were subsequently rescued by a soldier there, said Mr Phoompat.
Jakkraphong Phanchot, the Aranyaprathet district chief, said his people would contact Cambodian authorities and ask that they investigate the case and assist the remaining Thai victims in Puri Casino.
Local officials have also briefed Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief who oversees anti-human trafficking efforts, and he is negotiating with Cambodia’s police chief, said Mr Jakkraphong.
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