KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — A Malaysian man was among 61 people rescued from suspected human trafficking and online scam operations in Myanmar and sent to Thailand yesterday .
Chargé d’affaires ad interim of Malaysia to Thailand, Bong Yik Jui, confirmed the 32-year-old man from Perak arrived in Mae Sot, Tak province, on the same day.
“The Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok has confirmed with Thai authorities the identity of the Malaysian citizen.
“The embassy will work with the former on deportation once the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) process is completed,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
Those rescued are undergoing screening under the NRM to confirm their status as trafficking victims and assess their involvement in criminal activities before their repatriation.
Xinhua reported that 61 foreign nationals — 39 Chinese, 13 Indians, five Indonesians, and one each from Ethiopia, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan — were handed over by the Myanmar Border Guard Force to Thai authorities at the Mae Sot border checkpoint in Thailand’s Tak province.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai met the victims at the Tak Immigration Office in Mae Sot yesterday.
To combat online scam operations, Thailand has cut electricity, internet, and fuel supplies to five Myanmar border towns near its northern frontier, from Wednesday, citing national security concerns and the severe damage inflicted on the kingdom by these criminal networks.
— Bernama
