Kidnapped by a Chinese Crime Organization in His Twenties
Traveled to Thailand for a Job, Only to Be Detained
Forced to Participate in Crimes... Assaulted for Poor Performance
Amid a recent surge in cases of human trafficking and abductions by online criminal organizations in Southeast Asia, it has been reported that a South Korean national who had been held captive by a scam organization in Myanmar was rescued after being detained for about two weeks.
According to diplomatic authorities and the Korean Embassy in Thailand on May 22, a South Korean man in his twenties, referred to as Mr. A, was held captive for about two weeks by a Chinese-run scam organization in Myawaddy, Myanmar, before being released on April 30.
Foreign workers who were held captive by a Myanmar scam organization and have been released. Photo by AP Yonhap News
Mr. A was deceived into believing he was being hired as an interpreter at a trading company in Thailand and arrived in Bangkok on April 14. The following day, he was abducted to Myanmar. Mr. A testified to authorities that he was detained in Myanmar and forced to participate in online financial scams targeting South Koreans and others, and that he was assaulted for what the organization considered poor performance.
Myawaddy, which borders Tak Province in western Thailand, is known as a stronghold for Chinese-run online criminal organizations. These organizations are reported to detain people recruited through employment scams and human trafficking, and force them to participate in crimes such as voice phishing and online fraud. As the number of South Korean victims of employment scams and other crimes in Myawaddy increased, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its travel advisory for the area from Level 3 (recommendation to leave) to Level 4 (travel ban) last year.
The embassies in Myanmar and Thailand worked together with the authorities in both countries to rescue Mr. A. After staying at a facility for foreign nationals in Myanmar, Mr. A was repatriated to Thailand on May 20 and returned to South Korea later that night. An official from the Korean Embassy in Thailand stated, "Upon receiving the report, we mobilized all available channels, including the military and police in Myanmar and Thailand, to ensure his safety, facilitate the rescue, receive him at the border, and support his return to South Korea."
Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was kidnapped by a Thai criminal organization and taken to Myanmar, was released with a shaved head, causing shock. SCMP
In January, Chinese actor Wang Xing was also deceived by a film casting scam and entered Thailand, only to be abducted to Myanmar, where he was rescued with a shaved head, causing shock. Following his abduction, China, Thailand, and Myanmar conducted joint international operations to crack down on scam operations, resulting in the rescue and repatriation of thousands of foreign nationals, including Chinese citizens.
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