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Wynna Wong

A Hong Kong woman has been rescued from a scam farm in Myanmar, with the city’s Security Bureau vowing to ensure she will return home as soon as possible.
The bureau confirmed the rescue on Sunday evening, hours after Thai media reported authorities in the country had rescued the 31-year-old Hongkonger.
She was found on the Myanmar side of the border near Thailand’s Tak province.
The woman was believed to have been a victim of human trafficking linked to a Chinese scam centre operating out of Myanmar.
A spokesman for the bureau said she had now arrived in Thailand and would return to Hong Kong shortly.
“The Security Bureau confirmed that another Hong Kong resident who was captured for illegal work in Myanmar was rescued and arrived in Thailand smoothly,” a spokesman said on Sunday evening.
“The [government’s] task force has been in contact with the relevant Thai authorities and the rescued Hong Kong resident, and arrangements will be made for the Hong Kong resident to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible.”
The rescue operation was reportedly conducted by Thailand’s army and police.
They had been alerted by the country’s counter-narcotics authorities that the woman was attempting to cross the border into Thailand.
Hong Kong authorities have been working with their Thai counterparts to locate and help city residents trapped in neighbouring Myanmar.


The victims were believed to have been lured to the Southeast Asian countries under false pretences and forced to work in call centres targeting other potential scam victims.
Some of the Hongkongers have safely returned home in recent weeks.
Thai media reported that the latest Hong Kong victim had arrived safely in Thailand on Sunday and would be sent home “as soon as possible”.
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip led a six-member task force comprising Security Bureau, police and Immigration Department officials on a two-day trip to Bangkok in January to meet Thai authorities and representatives of the Chinese embassy regarding Hong Kong victims who have been tricked by scam centres in Myanmar.
Two other Hongkongers have been freed following the trip, including a 29-year-old man who returned home on January 27 accompanied by members of a government task force dedicated to helping residents stuck in Southeast Asia.
The other was a 25-year-old man who returned on January 16, three months after he was first lured to Thailand by an online job posting that promised HK$120,000 for transporting diamonds to Taiwan. He was taken across the border to a scam centre in Myanmar after arriving in Thailand.
Hong Kong police said the man’s family members were asked to pay US$30,000 for his release. The force did not reveal whether the ransom was paid.
On Saturday, Thai police said they had arrested a mainland Chinese woman on suspicion of acting as an agent to recruit foreigners into working for unauthorised businesses and engaging in human trafficking.
A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect in December last year on charges of assisting others to illegally cross the border into Myanmar.
Thai authorities are working with their Chinese counterparts to arrange the woman’s extradition once her legal proceedings are completed.


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Crime in Hong Kong

Thailand’s army and police conducted the rescue operation. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong authorities urged to provide clear answer on rescue of scam farm victims

A Hong Kong resident recently rescued from a scam farm in Myanmar talks with immigration officials in Bangkok. Photo: Handout

Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip (right) led a task force that met representatives of Thailand’s police in Bangkok earlier this month. Photo: Sam Tsang

Thailand assures Hongkongers over safety amid forced labour scams

A view of Myanmar’s Myawaddy, along the border with Thailand. The area is home to some of the notorious scam centres. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong sends team to Bangkok to help victim of Southeast Asian scam farm

Traffic at Myawaddy near the border crossing between Myanmar and Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

Security chief Chris Tang has said the family of the latest victim to be freed did not pay a ransom to secure his release from a Myanmar scam farm. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Security Bureau confirms rescue of woman reportedly found on Myanmar side of border near Thailand’s Tak province


Security Bureau confirms rescue of woman reportedly found on Myanmar side of border near Thailand’s Tak province.
