Seberang Perai Tengah police chief Tan Cheng San said the woman was saved in a raid on Dec 7, after the police received a report on the same day.

The police also arrested a 34-year-old Malaysian man and confiscated two vehicles, a laptop and items related to prostitution activities.

“The preliminary investigation found that the man was arranging to traffic the woman to a neighbouring country to work as an operator for an online scam syndicate,” said Tan in a statement today.

The case is being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 for trafficking a person for the purpose of exploitation, punishable with 15 years imprisonment and a fine, and under the Penal Code for wrongful confinement of a person, which carries a one-year jail term and a RM2,000 fine, upon conviction.