Photo: Ronnie Chin
IPOH: A 19-year-old human trafficking victim is pleading for his 61-year-old grandmother to rescue him from Myanmar.
The woman, who only wished to be known as Chong, said she received a call from her grandson, whom she wanted to identify only as Ah Yang for his safety, via Facebook messenger on Monday (Nov 14).
"He was crying and wanted to be rescued and come home.
"He also said that he had been beaten up and zapped with an electric prod, and has bruises all over his body," Chong, who works as a waitress, told a press conference held by Ipoh Barat MCA coordinator Low Guo Nan here on Wednesday (Nov 16).
"He also told me that he had tried to escape but failed," she said in between sobs.
"Ah Yang said he was being held in a compound known as 'KK2' in Myanmar, where there were hundreds of other Malaysians forced to work as scammers," she added.
Chong said her grandson, who last worked here as a kitchen assistant, had told her in May that he had found work in Kuala Lumpur.
"He then revealed to me that he was flying to Thailand to work there, having found a high-paying job and I was taken aback.
"I lost contact with him from then until I got the call just a few days ago," she said.
"I tried messaging him on WhatsApp, but the messages are marked read with no replies," she added.
Chong said her grandson had stayed with her since his parents divorced when he was only three years old.
"I have seen his latest picture and he has lost so much weight.
"I am really worried about how he is holding on," she said, adding that it would take about US$25,000, which is about RM115,625, to secure her grandson's release.
"I want him to come home soon," she added.
Low said he had accompanied Chong to lodge a police report and had also written to the Interpol, Aseanapol and the Malaysian Embassy in Myanmar on the matter.
