KUCHING: Mother of six, Zunita Sedini is seeking the government’s help bring home her eldest son Yusuf Islam together with 46 other Malaysians detained by the Cambodian authorities since Dec 16, who are believed to have been tricked by a human trafficking syndicate.
Zunita, 45, said her son who had recently completed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and the other youngsters were promised lucrative jobs with wages up to US$1,500 (RM6,000), but it was all a scam as when they arrived in Cambodia they did not get the jobs they were promised.
“Once they arrived there, they were housed in a private house. They waited in vain for several weeks but no jobs were forthcoming and then they were arrested by the Cambodian police.
“Mak, I have been detained. Please help us, we are in all 47 Malaysians,” was the message I received when I last contacted him on Dec 25.
I asked for help and appealed to Wisma Putra (Malaysian Foreign Ministry) to bring all the 47 innocent Malaysians back home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Julau Member of Parliament Larry Soon held a press conference today to inform and highlight the plight of the 47 Malaysians, aged between 18 and 21 years, who are now being held in a prison in the country.
Soon claimed that the matter was not notified to the Malaysian embassy there.
“They were allegedly arrested on charges of online gambling but the 47 Malaysians have denied the accusation,” he said.
Of the 47 victims, 44 are from Sarawak while the rest believed to be from Peninsular Malaysia. The majority are men.
Soon claimed the 47 victims were held for a week at a police lock-up and subsequently transferred to a prison about 446 kilometres from Phnom Penh. — Bernama
