Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra says about 7,000 people are waiting to be released from notorious scam centers in Myanmar, in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border. The transnational fraud rings are believed to have swindled billions of dollars. They're suspected to be staffed by Chinese nationals.
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00:00Waiting to be repatriated, these people in the Myanmar border town Shrekoko were rescued
00:12from this suspected scam center, allegedly forced to work, deceiving people for their
00:18money and recruiting others to join the team.
00:21It's a transnational crime industry potentially worth billions of dollars.
00:27Many among the group are believed to be Chinese nationals and show signs of severe physical
00:32abuse.
00:33They are employers taken into custody by local militia.
00:43This, as Thailand renews a crackdown on scam compounds along its border with Myanmar.
01:05Earlier this month, Bangkok cut power and fuel to some border areas where fraud rings
01:11were known to operate.
01:13There are Chinese actor Wang Xing became one of thousands lured into Thailand and abducted
01:19into Myanmar on the promise of fake jobs, investments and even romance.
01:25News of the actor's kidnapping spread on Chinese social media, hurting Thailand's reputation
01:31among prospective travelers from China, its largest and most lucrative source of tourists.
01:37Thailand and China have been working together on repatriating Chinese people rescued.
01:42This included a visit by Liu Zhongyi, a top Chinese security official to both sides of
01:48the border.
01:49Thailand's prime minister says the cooperation is working.
02:05Last week, over 250 people held in Myanmar scam centers were released at the Thai border,
02:12including this man from Bangladesh, now sheltering in a Thai military camp.
02:17He says he was forced to defraud people using messaging apps like WhatsApp, with Chinese-speaking
02:23captors warning they could sell organs of those who don't.
02:28If a client gives money, not feeling well.
02:31If they don't give money, also not feeling well.
02:37I cannot explain the feeling.
02:39Like it's too much guilty, like shame on us.
02:43Seven Taiwanese nationals were also among those rescued.
02:47Five of them have now returned to Taiwan and are being investigated as to whether they
02:52willingly went to Myanmar and committed fraud.
02:56With scam centers rife across Southeast Asia, including in Cambodia and the Philippines,
03:02a larger battle looms to clean out cycles of deceit that have trapped hundreds of thousands
03:08of people for years.
03:10Kama Xu and Joyce Zen for Taiwan Plus.