14 trafficked Filipinos repatriated from Malaysia, Cambodia

The Bureau of Immigration on Friday reported 14 Filipinos repatriated after being forced to work in scam hubs. 

In a statement, BI said the repatriated Filipinos arrived separately at the NAIA Terminal 1 on 30 July in coordination with Philippine embassies in Malaysia and Cambodia. 

Eight of the repatriates came from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They recalled that they were offered jobs in Laos as office staff with a promised salary of P50,000 a month. 

The victims said they departed the Philippines through a backdoor route through a boat from Dipolog to Zamboanga, then to another vessel bound for Malaysia.

Upon arrival, they traveled by train to Perlis near the border of Thailand where they were detained by authorities for almost six months. 

The other six Filipinos were repatriated from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Out of the six, only two left via NAIA while the rest departed the country on small boats to reach Cambodia. 

They were offered to work as customer service representatives with a salary of USD 1,000 a month, but worked instead in scamming operations and were subjected to physical abuse. 

One of the victims, a pregnant woman, was tortured when she experienced pregnancy sickness. 

“Another victim, a man, was physically struck on the neck for failing to meet his assigned quotas,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said.