Hong Kong: Three more Hong Kongers in Southeast Asia have been  captive in Southeast Asia, according to a top Security Bureau official, bringing the total number of people seeking rescue to 11, who did not rule out the possibility that there may be The criminals involved were local. It is possible partners and have promised to review. Outbound travel alerts for these countries.

The new cases were announced Friday morning, a day after Under Secretary of Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip announced the formation of a cross-departmental task force to coordinate rescue efforts.

"All three new cases, one in Thailand, one from Hong Kong and two in Cambodia, are employment scams." All three have spoken to their families. They claimed that their freedom is being restricted, but they are safe for the time being," the former assistant commissioner of police said in a radio programme.

The government has received 20 reports of residents traveling to Southeast Asia for employment or romance scams since January. Ten have returned to the city, two are still free in undisclosed locations, and eight are still in detention in Myanmar.

With three new cases, the number of Hong Kong residents in need of assistance has risen to 11.
Cheuk said the Chinese embassies had contacted the two residents who were free and safe in undisclosed locations. One of them told embassy officials that he did not want to return to Hong Kong yet, and they were still making arrangements for the return of the other resident.

They claim that many of those involved were duped into travel after answering online ads for casino jobs, making sales or helping local businesses open bank accounts.

"After they arrived, they were taken captive and forced to engage in online scams... "If they failed or refused to give, they were beaten or tortured."

"Some were also required to meet specific monetary goals, and if they did not, their families were asked to send the money ... have paid for the cost assigned to them."

He said the police would share information about the cases with foreign law enforcement agencies through Interpol.

“We do not rule out the possibility that criminals have associates or agents in Hong Kong [assisting the syndicate], but we have great confidence in the ability of our law enforcement agencies,” he said.

In 2012 and 2015, the Bureau of Security issued Amber Travel Alerts, the lowest level in its three-tier system for Myanmar and Thailand, respectively, warning residents of potential dangers and urging them to take precautions if they need to travel. , did. No travel warnings were issued for countries such as Cambodia or Laos.

Asked whether the bureau would raise the alert level for these countries, Cheuk replied, "We will." Travel advisory has been issued to ensure the safety of passengers. These cases are different as they involve pre-planned scams, but we will continue to assess the need to issue travel advisories."

According to local media reports, a Hong Kong man initially fled and bought a plane ticket from Bangkok to Hong Kong. However, he was unable to board his flight as he failed to secure a quarantine location, and was once again held captive by the syndicate.

Cheuk said he could not comment on specific cases, but officials were assisting victims with quarantine arrangements. He warned residents to be on the lookout for high-paying jobs in Southeast Asian countries.

He also said that the hardest part of rescuing these residents was determining their exact location, not that they had documents or met the quarantine requirements.

According to Danny Lau Tat-pong, honorary president of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association, while many Hong Kong-owned companies in Southeast Asia are run by Hong Kongers, it is unusual for them to offer high salaries to newcomers via the Internet.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong MP Ben Chan Han-pan commended the administration for its "quick response" to the crisis and raising it to the level of a security bureau.

From September 4 to September 10, Chan will travel to Thailand and Vietnam with five other DAB MPs and hold meetings with business organizations.

He said that even though promoting Hong Kong is our main goal, we will do our best to learn more about the situation in Bangkok and discuss it with NGOs.

Next month, two additional DAB delegations will visit Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

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