KUCHING: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief, Milton Foo, recently met with Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability and Sarikei MP, Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii, to appeal for federal government intervention on the growing number of online scam and human trafficking cases.
During the meeting, Foo informed Huang that since he took office in 2022, the bureau has received over 100 complaints regarding online scams, with total losses exceeding RM10 million. These scams include low-interest loan scams, high-return online and stock investment fraud, fake law enforcement officer impersonation scams (such as court, tax department, and immigration officers), parcel delivery scams, online marketplace fraud, AI video scams, and romance scams.
In a recent statement, Foo also highlighted 45 human trafficking cases, involving victims from various ethnic backgrounds, including 31 Chinese, nine Malay, and five Dayak individuals, with ages ranging from 19 to 52.
These victims hail from urban and rural areas across Sarawak, including Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintangor, Kapit, Engkilili, Bintulu, and Miri.
They were lured by high-paying job advertisements on social media or by friends to go to countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and the UAE, or were transited through Singapore to other regions in Europe or South America.
Foo confirmed that out of the 45 cases, 39 victims have been successfully rescued and repatriated, while three are missing, two are still trapped in scam compounds, and one is currently being held in a foreign immigration detention centre or prison.
Huang, who is also the Repok assemblyman, expressed serious concern over the increasing cases of online scams and human trafficking. He pledged to discuss the matter with his federal cabinet colleagues to formulate countermeasures and review existing laws and policies to strengthen the fight against cybercrime and protect the public.
He also emphasised the importance of increasing public awareness alongside government enforcement efforts and urged Foo to continue his efforts in assisting Sarawakian victims of human trafficking to return home to their families as soon as possible, and offered his help in communicating and coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
