KUCHING: Imagine being locked up in a house and guarded by German Shepard dogs, with movement closely monitored by individuals, and only having an egg and bread daily for a period of three months.
This was the experience faced by seven Sarawakians who were victims of a criminal syndicate of job offer scam in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The male victims, aged 20 to 28, from Petra Jaya and Santubong constituencies were forced to work as online gambling agents, and would not be given meals as punishment if they did not reach a certain target set by the syndicate.
They arrived in Dubai in August this year, and during their time there, they were forced to work 18 hours a day daily, without off day. However, they were also not being paid a cent.
The only freedom they got was the chance to contact their family, however, they are only allowed to talk for five minutes. Again, their conversations were also closely being monitored.
According to one of the victims, Syed Azwan Abdul Karim, 20, their daily routine is to work from 7am to 1am (Malaysia Time) and only having to sleep for six hours.
“We were forced to work as online gambling agents and using cell phones provided by the syndicate.
“During a period of over three months starting at the end of last August, every day the routine of our lives was the same. When it was time for lunch, we would be given an egg and bread, then at night, we would eat plain rice and a piece of chicken.
“There were also days when we were not given food as a punishment for not achieving the task set by the syndicate,” he told reporters when met in a press conference at Waterfront Hotel here yesterday (Dec 17).
Initially, Azwan said he was attracted by the lucrative salary offer of 1,000 USD dollars per month through an advertisement on the Telegram mobile application.
“All matters concerning flight tickets, passports, accommodation are provided by the syndicate. At first, everything seemed alright.
“However, as soon as we arrived at Dubai airport, we felt uneasy because a Malaysian man who greeted us, confiscated our passports, mobile phones and all personal belongings,” he said.
He added there were about eleven of them, including citizens from Taiwan, who were placed in a villa roughly about 30 minutes from the airport.
“We did voice our desire to be sent back to Malaysia, but they asked for payment of RM50,000 in return. Of course, we don’t have that much money, not to mention working without being paid,” said Azwan, who is from Kampung Sungai Midin, Samariang.
Unable to bear the mental torture, and worried about their safety, he said, one of the victims come out with an escape plan in wanting to return home.
“Although, we were not physically tortured, we were mentally and emotionally tortured. So the other friends started making plans to escape.
“For months, we also made the escape plan including observing the syndicate’s daily movements and others.
“When the day of escape came, eight of us took action when everyone else was sleeping at around 2 am (Malaysia Time). We managed to get out of the main gate, we ran as fast as we could,” he said.
Thankfully, he said, as they were running more than 100 metres from the villa, they came across police who happened to be on patrol at that time.
“We were immediately taken to the police station and then to the Malaysian embassy for further action,” he said.
He added they were placed at the Malaysian Embassy in the UAE for about two weeks while waiting for the process to return to be managed by relevant parties including the Sarawak government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others.
“We are grateful to be able to return home safely, and we will always remember this as a lesson and not repeat it,” he said.
