SEPANG: A month-long ordeal finally ended for eight Sarawakians who were duped into flying to Liberia on promises of employment opportunities in February.
The eight — Gawan anak Masin, 41, Enyang anak Ato, 66, Untol anak Luyong, 58, Salian bin Tahir, 49, Suhaili bin Ghani, 39, Bon anak Egat, 45, Dingai anak Nyalak, 47 and Aji anak Surau 39 — landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on transit to Sibu today.
Aji told reporters that an individual, believed to be from a Malaysian syndicate, had approached them and offered contracts with the promise of an RM8,000 per month salary each.
He said the jobs were in the timber sector and they were assured housing would be provided.
However, they were not required to make any payments.
They left for Monrovia, the Liberian capital, on Feb 4 and when they arrived at a plantation, they found that there was no electricity and they were left on their own. “We also did not get any food,“ he added. “We survived on cassava leaves and bought water with the money we had.”
Soon the group realised they had been duped.
Aji said an officer from Malaysian company Sime Darby later offered them food, including rice, while they waited for help. “We were then able to make porridge but we had only two meals a day,“ he added.
However, Aji is not aware of how the Sime Darby personnel came across their group.
Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had liaised with his Liberian counterpart Gbehzohgar M. Findley to secure the return of the eight men.
