A lawmaker has urged Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities to step in and rescue Hongkongers who may have been scammed and detained overseas.
DAB member Elizabeth Quat’s comments came after several local media reports detailing the experiences of residents who said they had been trafficked into Southeast Asian countries and forced to take part in online scamming businesses.
“[The alleged fraudsters] are using Hongkongers to scam other Hongkongers to go somewhere to work. This is a frightening trap, because they are asking [Hongkongers] to scam their own people. The public must be very careful,” Quat said on Wednesday. She was speaking to reporters after a regular meeting with top officials at the Legislative Council.
“Since some Hongkongers may be trapped overseas, I also hope the Hong Kong police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can coordinate and rescue Hong Kong residents as soon as possible,” Quat said.
Fraud syndicates
There have been a number of recent reports of fraud syndicates tricking people into travelling to countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos from Taiwan. Local media there have reported that more than 1,000 Taiwanese had been trafficked, with some subjected to physical and sexual abuse.
The syndicates reportedly lured people to work abroad by promising high salaries. Victims who were interviewed said they could only leave if…
