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'Singaporean scammed of $67,000': Malaysian who escaped Cambodian syndicate shares his experience
Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah, 40, said he and others in the job scam syndicate were forced to pose as officers from a Singapore cyber security agency.
Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah (left), 40, speaking at a press conference on Dec 3. PHOTO: Screengrab from Facebook/Utasan Melayu Plus
A Malaysian man who successfully escaped from a job scam syndicate based in Cambodia has shared how he and others were forced to make scam calls to victims, posing as "officers from a cyber security agency from Singapore".
During a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Dec 3) following his release, Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah, 40, also said that under his watch, "one Singapore was scammed out of $67,000".
The businessman shared that he had been tricked into the syndicate by a friend of more than 12 years who urged Syafiq to open a Malaysian restaurant in Cambodia, reported The Star.
After arriving in Bangkok, he was taken to Cambodia by a driver.
Syafiq estimated that there were about 700 Malaysians held at the centre, with many facing torture while being held captive.
The victims, aged between 17 and 35, were often beaten up, he said. He shared that he was also hit every day during his first week in the centre, and was forced to eat pork or be beaten up.
"They would beat the women with a belt. I heard a female victim was raped by 11 people after her mother filed a police report," he was quoted by The Star as saying.
Of his time at the scam centre, Syafiq said that he and others "pretended to be officers from a cyber security agency from Singapore and asked people about a fake job advertisement in Malaysia".
"In order to file a denial report, we would ask their IC numbers. With that, we could trace almost everything. Under my watch, one Singaporean was scammed out of $67,000," he said.
He was also forced to work between 10 and 12 hours daily, making calls to more than 250 phone numbers that were given to him, Harian Metro reported.
Syafiq eventually escaped after his wife, Jamilah Ahmad, 42, contacted the friend who lured him into the syndicate.
She was asked to pay RM6,000 (S$1,884) in exchange for Syafiq's release, which Jamilah could not.
Jamilah said Syafiq was released two days after she told the friend that she had named him in a police report.
