Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah, 40, recounted being lured to Cambodia at a press conference hosted by the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) in Kuala Lumpur on 4/12.

He stated that a friend he had known for 12 years urged him to open a Malaysian restaurant in Cambodia, claiming there were none there. Believing his friend, Muhammad traveled from Alor Setar to Bangkok, where a driver awaited him to take him to Cambodia.

Muhammad Syafiq Pubalan Abdullah (second from left) at the press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 4/12. *Photo: Star*

"They avoided main roads so I wouldn't know the way back. In Phnom Penh, I saw a small town and a casino. My workplace had guards. They told us to scam people over the phone," he said.

Muhammad stated the scam center housed about 700 Malaysians, mostly young people aged 17-35, who faced regular beatings. He himself endured daily beatings during his first week in Cambodia.

"They used belts to beat women. I heard one female victim was raped by 11 people after her mother reported it to the police," he said. "I was also forced to eat pork several times. If we didn't eat, they would beat us." Pork is strictly forbidden for Muslims.

According to Muhammad, they were forced to pose as Singaporean cybersecurity agency staff to make scam calls. They pretended to question victims about a fraudulent job advertisement in Malaysia and demanded victims provide their national identification numbers.

"With the ID number, we could find out everything. During one of my shifts, a Singaporean was scammed out of 67,000 Singapore dollars (nearly 52,000 USD)," he said.

Muhammad escaped the scam compound after his wife, Jamilah Ahmad, 42, sensed something was wrong with his calls. Muhammad was allowed to call home, but the content of their conversations was closely monitored by the compound's managers.

She posted a video about her husband's plight, revealing the friend's identity. "I called him, demanding he bring my husband back. Initially, they demanded 6,000 ringgit (1,500 USD), but I didn't have the money," she said. "I told him I had reported him to the police a second time, giving his name. Two days later, they released my husband."

PPIM called on authorities to arrest the recruiter and rescue the 700 trapped Malaysians.

"Given the increasing number of scam cases, we need a specialized department to address this," stated Nadzim Johan, PPIM's president and activist.

Hong Hanh (According to Star)