Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 5) — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) expressed alarm on Wednesday over the physical abuse experienced by the latest batch of repatriated human trafficking victims from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
Seven victims arrived in Manila last Monday after working for a year in Mae Sot, Thailand as crypto currency scammers. “The victims recounted how they were starved, electrocuted, and beaten with PVC pipes for not reaching their quota of investors in the pseudo-investment scheme,” the BI said in a statement. The bureau said that the victims posed as tourists when they left the country last year. Moreover, three other Filipinos were also repatriated last April 1 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia after being recruited by a syndicate to work as customer service representatives in a bogus shopping website.“According to the victims, their employers deceive their clients through a social messaging app where they will encourage them to invest more in their site but would not allow them to withdraw their investment after the first two successful payouts,” the BI said. One of the victims recalled that she was sold to a different company to work as a love scammer without being compensated, the BI said.Meanwhile, the two others, who were a couple, managed to escape from their employers and were assisted by the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh.The BI warned the public to only transact with legitimate working agencies for career opportunities abroad.
