M'sian man travels to Ipoh to meet woman, gets kidnapped to work in Laos scam centre

A 31-year-old man from Penang believed he was meeting up with a woman he met online through a mobile game.

However, things took a turn when he ended up in a scam centre in Laos.

We will refer to the man by the pseudonym "John".

According to Malaysian Chinese media outlet Kwong Wah, John met a woman through a mobile game.

She later invited him to meet her in Ipoh, so he took a bus from Penang on Feb. 7 to meet her.

The man did not tell his family he was going to Ipoh to meet the woman.

When he arrived at Ipoh, he saw a man sitting in the driver's seat and the woman beside him.

However, John did not suspect anything and got into the car.

"As soon as I got in, she put a hood over my head. Everything went black, and I was out. When we arrived at our destination, I was already in the Golden Triangle."

Scam centre

At the scam centre, the man was taught scam techniques, Kwong Wah reported.

He told the media that life in the centre was normal and he faced no abuse.

After two weeks, the scam centre suddenly dissolved, leaving him stranded in Laos.

Luckily, the man was given back his phone.

John contacted his family who then contacted the Malaysian Humanitarian Organisation.

Khong Wah added that the man had no identification documents and passport, and it took a month and a half before the man returned to Malaysia on Mar. 18.

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