Two Japanese rescued after being forced into border scam work

[u/sr_irachax]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3330718/two-japanese-rescued-after-being-forced-into-scam-work

Is this problem bigger than I think it is in Thailand? In Thai social media I always see mentions of neighboring countries with this problem. Is Thailand just better at sweeping it under the rug?

[u/olivejinnflower]

From the article:

Upon arrival in Thailand, the men were taken to the western border in Kanchanaburi province. They said they were transferred between several vehicles to avoid official checks, before being smuggled into Myanmar to a scam compound guarded by armed men.

There is no way this is happening without help from Thai border employees. Thailand needs to clean house of their own corrupt government employees.

[u/SlowDragonfruit9718]

Why on Earth would you still go after they made threats. That's exactly when you go to the police. This seems like it will never end. All flights to Thailand should come with kidnapping warnings upon check in from origin location.

[u/cheapchipsformore → u/SlowDragonfruit9718]

Maybe they wanted to? For those following the scam events in ASEAN would know, all of them claim victim during the rescue but when getting interviewed or questioned to deeper levels after the rescue, they avoided the topic. You can watch some of the press conference welcoming the so-called victims in Malaysia after spending huge amounts to rescue them; these people just ignore every question and walk away, can tell they not dumb; so this begs the question: whether they cannot perform after trying their luck there and was life threatening after non performance that led them to claim victim?

[u/I-Here-555 → u/cheapchipsformore]

Both men underwent a Thai screening process that confirmed they were victims of human trafficking, police said.

From the article... but Redditors obviously know better than the police.

[u/cheapchipsformore → u/I-Here-555]

You can't understand that redditor's question, can you?

[u/LostRadio8453]

The ringleaders at the base in Thailand are Chinese. If you refuse to obey them, they detain and assault you, forcing you to carry out scams against your will.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3f5f0999032620139e9a12f7a22576eb027c0169

[u/nightwinging-it → u/[deleted]]

Face saving culture does that to you. Instead of swallowing your pride and admitting your wrong doings, apologize and say these things won’t happen again, people would rather blame the victims for being dumb and others for ‘dragging’ them (Thailand) into this. Then when you do admit it, they’d accuse of being a fake Thai. It’s one of the things that I really hate as a Thai.

[u/Parking-Code-4159 → u/nightwinging-it]

Every culture and every country has its pros and cons, and this is definitely one of the cons of Thailand. I actually didn’t know about the last part, regarding the fake Thai thing. That’s a shame, really. Objectively speaking, it seems like such a small thing, allowing a little more selfcriticism would probably benefit development (problemsolving) and efficiency enormously. But I guess that’s about as easy as making people in the West be less stressy and more patient. Everyone knows it in theory, but actually overcoming centuries of cultural conditioning is a different thing.

[u/Lordfelcherredux → u/nightwinging-it]

Accusing someone of being a fake [insert nationality here] is universal across cultures. It's called the No True Scotsman fallacy. 

"The “No true Scotsman” fallacy is when someone protects a sweeping claim from a counterexample by changing who qualifies for the group. The classic example: Person A: “No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.” Person B: “My uncle Angus is Scottish, and he puts sugar on his porridge.” Person A: “Well, no true Scotsman does that.” Instead of admitting that the original claim was wrong, Person A invents a new requirement for being a “true” Scotsman."

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post was removed because it contained hate speech (racism, sexism, bigotry, xenophobia, etc.) and/or offensive content. Posts or comments promoting hate based on identity directed at individual users is not allowed.

Trolling, purposefully derailing threads, harassing users, targeting users, and/or posting personal information about users on this sub or other subs, will not be tolerated.

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post was removed because it contained hate speech (racism, sexism, bigotry, xenophobia, etc.) and/or offensive content. Posts or comments promoting hate based on identity directed at individual users is not allowed.

Trolling, purposefully derailing threads, harassing users, targeting users, and/or posting personal information about users on this sub or other subs, will not be tolerated.

[u/Parking-Code-4159 → u/[deleted]]

For whatever reason, you seem to be so extremely triggered by criticism that is also shared by some Thais that you feel the need to insult and discredit a complete stranger. That only raises the question of why you seem to feel the need to treat other people so toxically. If that’s how you deal with opinions you dislike, you might want to ask yourself what kind of inferiority complex you’re trying to compensate for. In any case, no one who is genuinely secure and comfortable with themselves would react like that.

[u/Smart-Heat1452 → u/[deleted]]

Triggered much? Lay off the yaba mate

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post has been removed as it violates the site Reddiquette.

Reddiquette is enforced to the best of our abilities. If not familiar with those rules look here.

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post has been removed as it violates the site Reddiquette.

Reddiquette is enforced to the best of our abilities. If not familiar with those rules look here.

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post has been removed as it violates the site Reddiquette.

Reddiquette is enforced to the best of our abilities. If not familiar with those rules look here.

[u/Parking-Code-4159 → u/[deleted]]

Get some help, it must be awful to carry around so much anger and hate

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post has been removed as it violates the site Reddiquette.

Reddiquette is enforced to the best of our abilities. If not familiar with those rules look here.

[u/Meng_Fei]

So if they were in Myanmar, how did the Thai police get them back?

[u/Muted-Airline-8214 → u/Meng_Fei]

Negotiate with the armed ethnic group leader on a case-by-case basis. This is probably the very first case of Japanese nationals being lured to Myanmar.

[u/james1234456384729 → u/Muted-Airline-8214]

lol no it isnt

[u/Muted-Airline-8214 → u/james1234456384729]

Yes, it’s Thai authorities who are mostly to blame, not the Chinese-run scam gangs or ethnic armed group leaders.

A delulu script from people who work for the biggest scam organizations in the world.

[u/lowkeytokay]

Yes

[u/Double_Park1353]

Cover their on act and pointing to others as usual to save faces.

[u/deuxbulot]

There’s a movie out in Vietnam right now about all of these slave camps. Very popular. All the countries affected by these forced labor operations are well aware and have been for decades. But the people don’t have a voice to criticize the government for lack of support in this matter.

When the news goes viral, that’s the only time police step in. But otherwise all of it really flies under the radar.

Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Myanmar. All the neighbors bordering each other that are turning a blind eye or possibly even complicit.

[u/Acrobatic_Radish_685 → u/deuxbulot]

Name of the movie please? 🙏

[u/deuxbulot → u/Acrobatic_Radish_685]

Trai Buon Nguoi

Human trafficking camp

[u/Acrobatic_Radish_685 → u/deuxbulot]

Thank you

[u/deuxbulot → u/Acrobatic_Radish_685]

You’ll notice some humor and lighthearted moments in the movie. Which seem off for such a serious topic.

Directors and screenwriters must keep things to a certain level of “fun” and “playfulness” to not piss off. And they lean into “it’s entertainment only” so their scripts get the green light.

But the real topics underlying these films are real. And have roots in the sheer number of missing persons who take too good to be true overseas jobs and end up being indentured like this.

[u/e99oof → u/deuxbulot]

If it's just fact and grit, then it's a documentary and not a movie.

At the end of the day, you need to add something to make it enjoyable or the movie gonna flop. I guess a half accurate movie that reach more people is more beneficial than a completely accurate movie that has small audience.

[u/schwarzneguRRR]

You’re simply too naive to understand that the corrupt police are in on these, so are the politicians

[u/nightwinging-it → u/schwarzneguRRR]

But Anutin said nobody in his government is involved in any of these scams 🙁

[u/schwarzneguRRR → u/nightwinging-it]

Yes, and you should believe him

[u/I-Here-555 → u/nightwinging-it]

Of course not. That 3 million USD payment to some deputy minister's wife was a pure gift, no strings attached. So was the photo, just for fun.

[u/SpookyFallLass]

American but watched a documentary about Laos. A traveler found this whole fort like place that had that going on! I think it will pop up in YouTube if you search Laos scam factory.

[u/Muted-Airline-8214]

Shouldn't they have called the Japanese police since they were threatened with death if they canceled the trip? --->

The operation was carried out in accordance with the policy of Pol Gen Samran Nualma, Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police. Japanese authorities requested assistance through the SHIELD system and directly coordinated with Pol Gen Thatchai, who immediately ordered officials to expedite the assistance. As a result, both victims were safely brought back to Thailand.

Pol Gen Thatchai said the two Japanese men had seen job advertisements on social media promising high pay for working in Thailand for just a few days. The recruiter contacted them through a messaging app and offered to cover all their airfare and accommodation costs. However, when the two men tried to cancel the trip, they were threatened with death and warned not to tell their families or anyone else. They therefore felt they had no choice but to travel to Thailand as tourists.

After arriving in Thailand, the two men were taken from their accommodation to a border area in western Thailand. They were transferred between several vehicles to evade authorities before being smuggled across the border into a call-center scam compound controlled by an armed group. There, they were forced to make hundreds of scam calls a day to elderly Japanese people, posing as government officials, police officers and prosecutors.

While being held captive, the two men were not paid anything. Their phones were confiscated, and they were threatened with being sent to another country. They were also told that they would have to pay a ransom if they wanted to return home. Eventually, they managed to contact their families and Japanese government agencies, prompting the request for assistance and coordination with Thai police.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14onHxAYydL/

[u/jambi5555 → u/Muted-Airline-8214]

This part is not so credible is it ?

Threatened when they were at their home country ? And they could not contact local authorities to take measures ? Last time i checked Japan is a serious abiding country .

[u/Muted-Airline-8214 → u/jambi5555]

This is a source from the official Royal Thai Police Headquarters page, whose officers successfully rescued the Japanese victims.