It was his mother’s determination that saw Aiman saved from unspeakable horrors – syndicates in Cambodia have been known to torture, beat and force their captives to eat rats.
After finding out that her son was being held captive, Nor Azlinda Azman refused to give up and continued to badger anyone she could find to help rescue him.
She hounded the police every day for two weeks, sought help from politicians and held press conferences to highlight her son’s plight.
The 51-year-old even contemplated flying to Cambodia to locate her son, despite not having the means to do so.
But what frustrated her more as she fought to save him was the fact that Aiman seemed resigned to his fate.
“But I told him, hang in there, mum is going to save you,” the mother of two told FMT.
Aiman had been duped into working as a customer service representative in Dubai in April last year after being offered the job by “a friend”.
However, a week later, he was transferred to the “company’s headquarters” in Cambodia which turned out to be a centre running a Macau scam.
When she was informed of his predicament, Azlinda immediately filed a police report but she was left exasperated as the investigation did not seem to make any progress.
Fortunately, while she was researching job syndicates online, Azlinda came across the Global Anti-Scam Organisation, a US-based NGO, who offered to track Aiman.
She provided them with the few details she had and was relieved when the organisation managed to locate Aiman. The authorities managed to rescue Aiman and 23 other Malaysians last August based on the information provided by the organisation.
“Their information was helpful to the police. They also updated me about the wellbeing of my son when he was with the authorities and I couldn’t reach him.”
As they celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Azlinda is thankful to have her son back.
Aiman, who will be tying the knot soon, now works at a chocolate factory and commutes daily from their house in Gelang Patah, Johor.
“This is why Hari Raya this year will be more special and meaningful after what we went through.
“I will be preparing Aiman’s favourite dishes, ketupat and serunding.”