Teen urges Malaysians not to take job offers abroad that are “too good to be true”

Teen urges Malaysians not to take job offers abroad that are “too good to be true”






A YOUNG Malaysian caught in the dragnet of sleazy scammers is now advising locals not to fall for job offers abroad that are too good to be true.


What happened to 18-year-old Gan Jiea Jie who got attracted to an online job offer promising RM80,000 (S$24,200) for a week’s work transporting gold from Thailand to Malaysia is unbelievable.


Struggling with debt and coming from a broken family, he eagerly accepted the offer, unaware that it would lead him into a brutal human trafficking syndicate.


Gan was convinced of the legitimacy of the job when he received a plane ticket from Johor to Bangkok, along with a booking for a luxury hotel in Thailand.

“They also sent me a return ticket to Johor. This convinced me, and I decided to leave home with just a small bag of clothes and my passport,” he recalled to a local newspaper.

Instead, after flying to Thailand he ended up being trafficked to Myanmar, where he endured beatings, tasers, and 18-hour workdays at a scam center.

Upon arrival in Bangkok, he was taken to a remote area, then smuggled into Myanmar. There, traffickers told him he had to work for a year or pay US$50,000 for his release.

Forced to scam victims worldwide, Gan was repeatedly “sold” to different bosses and saw fellow captives attempt daring escapes. “I had a quota to achieve. If not, I would be punished,” he said.

After 11 months, he found his chance while being moved to Cambodia. Seizing the opportunity, he escaped to Thailand with the help of a friend and the Malaysian Embassy.

Now awaiting repatriation, he warns others: “Never take job offers abroad that are too good to be true.”

He feared escaping due to traffickers placing US$10,000 bounties on those who fled. —Mar 2, 2025