Goi Chee Kong, 50, and his wife, 45, were devastated when they found out that their son, Zhan Feng, 23, had fallen victim to a job scam.
He was believed to have been trafficked into Myawaddy in southeastern Myanmar and forced to work for the syndicate.
Earlier today, foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah said there were almost 200 Malaysian victims of job scam syndicates. “As at Sept 2, there are 148 victims in Cambodia, 22 in Laos, two in Myanmar and 23 in Thailand,” he said.
Goi and his wife had come to Bangkok on Aug 30 after being told their son was in a hospital in Mae Sot.
“We travelled to Bangkok, hoping to bring him back to Malaysia for treatment. However, we were informed he had died at 2am on May 11. The doctor believed my son had been abused before he was left at the hospital for treatment on April 11,” Goi told Bernama.
He said his son had been admitted to intensive care under a false name and passport number and the hospital was unable to reach the embassy and family to discuss his condition and treatment.
“Without further medical treatment, he passed away a month later. His remains were buried at a cemetery in Si Racha in Chonburi province,” Goi said.
The couple hoped to bring their son’s ashes home but were told to settle the outstanding hospital bills of about RM40,000 before a death certificate could be issued for the body to be exhumed for DNA testing and cremation.
Goi said a fundraising campaign launched on Friday raised RM50,000 within a day, with the assistance of Sim Chon Siang, the assemblyman for Teruntum, Perak, who had accompanied the family to Mae Sot.
Sim said the family would settle the hospital bills and seek permission to exhume the body as soon as possible. “We hope to bring the ashes back to Malaysia on Thursday,” Sim said.
Zhan Feng, a final year student of a teacher-training institute, had gone to Bangkok on Jan 19 for a holiday and to meet a friend he had met on social media.
He promised his family he would return home to celebrate his mother’s birthday on Feb 5. However, he did not show up. His father lodged a missing person’s report two days later.
However, on March 31, he phoned his parents, informing them that he was in Mae Sot and needed RM80,000 for medical treatment.
“During the conversation, we noticed something unusual. We think he was being monitored and threatened. He was unusually quiet. He also apologised for not being able to return home.
“He promised to return home a year later … We have not heard from him since then,” Goi said.
Based on the conversation, he believed his son was a job scam victim, and he lodged a police report on April 2.
“I hope his death will teach all young job seekers a lesson. I hope his death will be the last,” he said.