The woman, known as Wong, said her son was lured to Cambodia seven months ago and has told her that he is stranded there.

She said efforts to rescue him had so far failed, even though she had given valuable information to the authorities.

She said she believed corrupt officers in Cambodian enforcement agencies were working in cahoots with the syndicates.

She explained that she had obtained information about her son’s whereabouts through the efforts of well-wishers and from what her son said in secret phone calls.

She furnished the details to the Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh, which is believed to have relayed the information to the Cambodian police.

“However, to my surprise, the syndicate queried my son on the exact details which they received from the Cambodian police,” Wong told FMT.

As a result, she said her son was now trapped in a complex web of human trafficking and scam syndicates in Cambodia.

“After the information was leaked, he was sent to another syndicate. From a phone call with my son a few days ago, he told me that he’s again being transferred to a third syndicate,” she said.

FMT has emailed the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia for clarification.

It is learned that when victims fail to perform in their job, which is to scam people through phone calls or online, a syndicate would sell or transfer them to other syndicates.

Wong’s son was duped into taking a “high-paying” job as a telemarketer in Cambodia. He was taken by several people from Penang to Cambodia using illegal routes in November last year.

According to the mother, it turned out that the actual job was to scam people via phone calls or online.

Wong said her last resort would be to pay a ransom of at least US$13,000 for the syndicate to release her son.

“I heard some victims were released after their families paid the ransom. But US$13,000 is a huge amount for me, and that will certainly not be the end of the ordeal.”

She said she had been told that if the victims were released, they would be detained and investigated by the Cambodian authorities for illegally entering the country.

“I hope there will be light at the end of the tunnel. He misses home, he misses his family, and I am worried they have done something bad to him,” she said.

Wong had previously brought details of her son’s problem to MCA public services head Michael Chong in March.

Chong said more than 50 Malaysian youths were being held against their will in Cambodia and forced to scam people.

Following the publicity on the cases, 16 Malaysians were rescued from Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia and brought home.

Chong told FMT that two more teenagers were rescued from the syndicate about three weeks ago.

“They are still in Cambodia and awaiting the documentation process and will be brought home hopefully by next week,” he said.