A young Thai woman is claiming that Chinese scammers brutally tortured her in the Philippines, Thai media reported yesterday. The woman, so far only known as 26 year old ‘Sa,’ said the scammers first recruited her via Facebook in what she thought was a job answering customers’ questions about Bitcoin. But when Sa arrived in the Philippines, she found out that the job was actually for a romance scam.
Sa says that when she and 11 of her friends asked to leave, the Chinese employer chained them, electrically shocked them, dunked their heads in water, and beat them. Some of them were reportedly beaten until they were unconscious. The employer also allegedly took naked photos of them, which he threatened to release if they went to the police.
The workers were told to pay 100,000 baht if they wanted to be freed. Eight were able to pay this, including Sa, although three were still trapped. After Sa was freed, she alerted the rescue Facebook page Samai Must Survive about what was going on. The page then contacted the Thai Ambassador to the Philippines about the situation, and the embassy rescued the three other Thais being tortured for asking to leave.
Sa said there are 30-40 other Thais still working for the scammers, although they have not been attacked since they didn’t ask to leave.
Sa said she had had doubts about the job but was reassured when she saw photos of the supposed office. She says she was offered a 30,000 baht monthly salary plus commissions, along with other perks such as free accommodation and travel.
Sa said she would go to the Justice Ministry today (September 1) to file an additional complaint.
SOURCE: Naewna | Bangkok Post