Chinese citizen saved from deception

A Chinese citizen was successfully rescued after being duped into traveling to Myanmar via Thailand with a fictitious job offer to become a model for a magazine photo shoot, the Chinese embassy in Thailand revealed on Friday.

The 23-year-old Chinese man, Zhong, had been tricked and trafficked into Myanmar after arriving at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok in June. He was told he would be shooting for a magazine cover, the China Media Group reported.

Zhong's sister, who received a suspicious call from him weeks ago when he was at an unidentified location in Myanmar, had reported him missing to the police in both Guangzhou and Bangkok.

In a statement released on Friday, the Chinese embassy in Thailand said the rescue of Zhong was a joint effort of various parties. It did not disclose more details.

The embassy further cautioned Chinese citizens about the risks associated with "high-paying jobs" abroad and clarified that foreigners in Thailand must obtain the appropriate permits to work legally.

Following this incident, China and Thailand agreed to establish a coordination center in Bangkok to investigate and combat such fraudulent groups, Thai news portal The Nation reported.

Criminal networks have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to scam centers across Southeast Asia, many along the Thai-Myanmar border — where victims are forced to work in illegal online schemes — according to the United Nations.

Early this year, Chinese actor Wang Xing went missing at the Thailand-Myanmar border after arriving in Thailand for a supposed film shoot, causing widespread public concern in both China and Thailand.

Apart from Wang, several Chinese actors were also reportedly misled into traveling abroad under the lure of filming opportunities, according to the Actors Committee of China Federation of Radio and Television Associations.

It had urged actors and entertainment companies to carefully verify any invitation before engaging in cross-border work.

In recent years, Chinese authorities have made coordinated efforts to fight these rampant crimes.

In January, law enforcement authorities of China, Myanmar and Thailand reached a consensus to further strengthen trilateral law enforcement cooperation, establish a joint anti-crime mechanism, and jointly tackle wire and cyber fraud, human trafficking and other cross-border crimes.

yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn