Fate of 44 Sarawakians among 47 in hands of Wisma Putra
KUCHING: The 47 Malaysians, 44 of them Sarawakians, now languishing in a Cambodian jail may be the victims of human-trafficking syndicate.
Julau MP Larry Sng said he is concerned by the fact that most of the victims are from poor Sarawakian families who do not have the means to deal with the Cambodian bureaucracy.
“They are mostly Ibans, young and were looking forward to high-paying jobs to help change the fate of their poor families, I don’t see how they are able to deal with the situation if left to themselves,” Larry told a press conference yesterday.
Calling on the Foreign Affairs Ministry to immediately step in, Larry said the 47 Malaysians had been detained by the Cambodian authorities since Dec 16.
He said he had no doubt at all that the Malaysians are victims of an organised syndicate preying on rural folk.
“The Malaysians have paid hundreds of US dollars to the agency and on arrival in Cambodia, they have been housed in a private home for a few weeks before being arrested by the Cambodian police on online gambling charges,” he explained.
He said some families of the victims had gone to Cambodia to find out where their children were.
A check with the Malaysian Embassy in Cambodia did not reveal any information pertaining to the arrest and whereabouts of the 47 Malaysians.
“The family members came to know about the victims from a Cambodian local newspaper and they learned that their children would be locked up by the police for three years without being charged in court.
“They have not been brought to a court of law to be charged or to be remanded.
“It is my hope that the federal government would provide assistance in dealing with this situation. Their safety is of paramount concern to their parents,” he said, adding a quarter of the victims were young girls.
It is understood that the Foreign Affairs Ministry has taken up the case with Cambodia Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry to settle the matter.
