Human-trafficking crisis: captive Hongkonger tells how trip to Thailand turned into 3-month nightmare under forced labour
- Anecdotal evidence shows many scam victims were lured to Thailand with the promise of a well-paid job they saw advertised online
- Lawyers and NGO staff have paid close attention since the crisis – possibly the worst to affect the safety of Hongkongers overseas for a decade – started to unfold
A week after the plight of Hongkongers trafficked and held captive in Southeast Asia came to light, not much has changed for John, who is still stranded in Myanmar.
Escape is not an option for the 30-something, whose life took a dramatic turn for the worse when a trip to Thailand to catch up with an old friend turned into a nightmare.
John said he was once locked up in a room for five days, at the mercy of his captors for food and drink.
But he said he never dared to try and escape after he watched a runaway being shot because he knew he could never outrun a bullet.
“I witnessed someone who tried to run away before, but to no avail. He was hit by a shot and I saw him being carried back inside,” John said in a recent recording released by Stop Trafficking of People (Stop), part of Branches of Hope, a Hong Kong charity.
Lawyers and non-governmental organisation staff have paid close attention since the crisis – possibly the worst to affect the safety of Hongkongers overseas for a decade – started to unfold.
And the professionals warned they had started to see a pattern where crooks had targeted the young and educated.
