Hongkongers being lured to Southeast Asian countries and forced into illegal work: minister

Signs have emerged of a resurgence in the number of Hongkongers falling victim to employment scams involving being lured to Southeast Asian countries and then detained there, with 12 individuals still being held captive overseas, the city’s security minister has said.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung told lawmakers on Tuesday that since the second quarter of this year, cases were once again being reported of residents being misled into travelling to Southeast Asian countries, where they were coerced into taking part in illegal activities.

Law enforcement agencies had received 23 related requests for assistance so far this year as of November 25, he added.

Eleven individuals had returned to Hong Kong, while the remaining 12 cases involved people whose personal freedom was restricted but who were still safe and able to contact their families or Hong Kong authorities, Tang said.

In July 2022, the government revealed that some residents were deceived into travelling to Southeast Asia, where they were forced to participate in scams.

The individuals were held captive, with one of the locations involved being the notorious “KK Park”, a Chinese-run “fraud factory” at the Myanmar-Thailand border where thousands of forced labourers had been detained.

Last month, a Hong Kong court sentenced two human traffickers from the city to up to four years and eight months in jail for tricking five Hongkongers into forced labour and confinement in Southeast Asia, including at KK Park.