Liang (not his real name) said his sister had communicated with a man she met on Facebook Messenger for the past three months.

“After messaging her for a few months, he introduced my sister to a job in Singapore as a warehouse storekeeper, promising a salary of SG$2,000 to SG$3,000,” the 30-year-old said.

He said his sister flew to Singapore earlier this month, then took a connecting flight to Bangkok, Thailand, before being transferred to Myanmar by car.

Liang received a call from the syndicate a few days later, requesting an initial ransom of RM50,000, prompting him to lodge a police report.

The ransom was reduced to RM20,000 the next day. However, Liang has yet to pay any of it.

His last contact with his sister on March 11 was a message pleading with him to bring her back home.

MHO public relations officer Daniel Khoo said the victim was believed to be operating as a love scammer on Facebook, under the condition that she finds two more victims to replace herself if she wishes to leave.

He also said they were exploring the safest solutions to bring Liang’s sister back to Malaysia.

“We, together with Segambut PKR deputy chief Deric Teh, will contact the foreign minister and reach out to local NGOs to find a safe solution to relocate the victim from the syndicate’s area.

“However, this will take some time as it is not under federal control,” he said.