SEPANG: Many stories of torture, hunger and being human trafficking victims told by some Malaysians are just that – stories, Cambodian authorities have told their Malaysian counterparts.
Most of the stories reported in the media revolved around being made to work for scammers after they were lured to Cambodia and nearby countries by promises of high pay.
The Cambodian authorities claimed that their investigations revealed many alleged Malaysian victims had merely made up these stories to “avoid being treated like criminals”.
They also claimed they had discovered that some of these Malaysians had accumulated huge gambling debts at casinos there, while others could not pay back the money they owed loan sharks.
These were among the findings conveyed to Malaysian police from their counterparts in Cambodia following a trip there with representatives of the Foreign Ministry from Jan 24-27.
Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said the Cambodian authorities were upset with how some of the local media had portrayed the stories of these Malaysians in their country.
“At our discussions with the Cambodian authorities, they told us that their probe had revealed that many of these individuals were not victims of human trafficking but made up these stories so that they could be ‘rescued’,” he told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) upon his return from Cambodia yesterday.
He said these so-called victims had fabricated their plight so that they would not be treated like criminals back home.
“Based on our checks, these victims would be given certain privileges if they were detained at immigration depots while alleged criminals would have been subjected to tighter control.
“Some of these individuals made up these stories because they could not achieve the KPI (key performance indicator) set by the syndicates they were working for.
“The Cambodian authorities also told us that none of the Malaysians involved had ever been beaten or abused by the syndicates that hired them,” he said.
Comm Abd Jalil said the Cambodian authorities had also indicated that they would no longer accept information from unverified channels, only the Malaysian Embassy there or the Malaysian police.
The Cambodian authorities, he added, would no longer work with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), saying that this could jeopardise their investigations or rescue operations.
“We also cannot rule out (the possibility) that there were certain NGOs taking advantage of the situation,” he said.
The Malaysian police were investigating this assertion thoroughly, said Comm Abd Jalil.
Meanwhile, he said five Malay-sians aged between 16 and 42 were brought home following the trip to Cambodia.
“We held talks with the Cambodian authorities and I am touched by the gesture of the Cambodian Immigration Dep-artment in releasing the five Malaysians who were held at a detention centre.
“I was told that under normal procedure it would take at least a month for them to be released, but after our talks, the department agreed to free them immediately,” he said.
Comm Abd Jalil said the youngest of the group claimed to be autistic.
“We will investigate how he managed to board a flight from Sarawak to KLIA and then to Cambodia,” he added.
As at Jan 26, a total of 262 police reports has been lodged, with 218 individuals having been brought home while 113 others remain stuck in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and other countries.
“In Cambodia, we determined that 145 victims were stuck there and managed to bring home 116 so far. The remaining 29 are believed to still be there,” he added.
Foreign Ministry consular and protocol head Mohd Aini Atan, who was also at the press conference, said there was a fine line between victim and scammer when it came to these individuals.
“We at the ministry will never turn down Malaysians who seek assistance abroad,” he said.