Despite Thai efforts to dismantle criminal call centers in Burma, kidnappings of Chinese citizens continue.
See: Thailand has paralyzed criminal call centers in Burma
A Chinese national who went missing in Thailand after accepting a modeling job for a photo shoot has been rescued, according to the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, which warned Chinese citizens against thoughtlessly accepting job offers.
The embassy said in a statement that the rescue of a person with the surname Zhong was the result of collaboration between different parties, but did not give further details.
The embassy did not disclose the person's full name or gender.
Chinese media reported on Friday, July 4, that a 23-year-old Chinese man with the surname Zhong had been deceived and victimized by human trafficking in Burma.
He arrived in Thailand for a photo shoot for the cover of a magazine in early June.
His sister, who had received a suspicious call from him a few weeks ago while he was in an unidentified location in Burma, had reported his disappearance to the police in Guangzhou and Bangkok, said the Chinese state-owned television channel CCTV.
China Warns its Citizens
Prisoner workers in a call center in Burma. Photo: A Long Chuang Dang Ji
The embassy in Bangkok warned Chinese citizens to be wary of dubious "high-paying jobs" abroad, specifying that Thailand required foreign nationals to obtain appropriate permits to work there.
This warning comes as concerns grow about human trafficking and fraudulent employment schemes targeting Chinese nationals abroad.
According to the United Nations, criminal networks have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to fraudulent complexes in Southeast Asia, many of which are located along the border between Thailand and Myanmar.
See: Thailand: 7,000 victims rescued from the hell of Burmese call centers
The victims are then forced to work in illegal online networks.
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar issued a lengthy statement on its WeChat account on Friday regarding »the emergence of new methods of fraud via telecommunications networks».
It has drawn up a list of tips and 20 key phrases to watch out for, to help the public identify scams.
The reason for the decline in Chinese tourism in Thailand
Chinese actor Wang Xing in a car with police officers returning him from Myanmar to Tak province, Thailand after his kidnapping, Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Photo by the Thai police
This latest incident echoes a similar case that drew national attention in January, when a 31-year-old Chinese actor was deceived by a job offer in the film industry in Thailand, before being kidnapped and taken to a fraudulent complex in Burma to work.
He was eventually released by the Thai police
See: Thailand: cancellations or traveling with fear for Chinese tourists
Following this case, China and Thailand agreed to establish a coordination center in Bangkok to investigate and combat these fraudulent complexes.
Thailand has also recently intensified its fight against call centers in Cambodia, which, according to several reports, are directly linked to the family of former Prime Minister Hun Sen and his son, current Prime Minister Hun Manet.
See: Call centers in Cambodia: the noose tightens around Hun Sen's family
See also:
Another Chinese kidnapped in Thailand has been rescued from the hell of Burmese call centers
How call centers are ruining vulnerable people in Thailand?
Under pressure from China, Thailand finally cracks down on call centers
Thailand: panic in Pattaya: Chinese tourists prefer Japan
The Chinese rush on rare earths in Burma is poisoning Thailand
The popular island of Phuket resists the decline in Chinese tourism
Chinese tourism in decline: Thailand launches a recovery plan
Tourism in Thailand: concerns about the decline in Chinese travelers
Thailand wants to limit visa exemption for Chinese tourists to 30 days
Source: Bangkok Post
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1 comment
Contrary to Thai authorities' statements made just 2 months ago during power and internet cut-off operations, fraudulent call centers set up on the Burmese border have not been dismantled.
At most, they have been weakened and have had to reorganize in other places, with another organization, another logistics of work and recruitment…
The beast was wounded, but survived and is recovering from its wounds; it is regaining strength and its mafia activities are picking up again.
All this, apart from the fact that it is one of the most tragic human trafficking cases involving kidnappings, sequestrations, and torture of human beings at the beginning of this century, will not improve the catastrophic image of the country's police and security services, the image of the Thai Tourism Authority and the ability of the Ministry of Interior and its minister to remedy this situation by thoroughly overhauling the priority functions of the police and army on the ground and intensifying their daily deterrent presence among the population, particularly in areas targeted by mafia touts, as well as at the kingdom's borders.
When will there be a joint operation between the police and the Thai Army and the (official) Burmese Army to destroy the infrastructure, arrest the culprits and free these hundreds, or even thousands of modern-day slaves ???