The minds of some teenagers are like sponge and they tend to innocently absorb whatever that is told to them. That means, unfortunately, they sometimes easily trust their peers who give them empty promises.
Recently, a 14-year-old almost became a scam victim and risked himself of being sold to Thailand for labour after falling for the promise of a job that offers RM1,800 monthly by simply playing games.
Zhang left his house on 22 March and fortunately, 3 days later, he was safely brought home!
According to an interview with China Press, Zhang’s mother said that her son fell for the words of his peers, who he met through online games and who is also a school dropout.
“He promised my son a job that offers RM1,800 per month and persuaded him to go to Johor for the job,” she explained.
After hearing the job offer, Zhang took the bus from KL to Johor Bahru all by himself.
Locked in a room, items confiscated
Zhang safely reached JB but his arrival did not turn out to be the sweet dream that was promised to him.
“He was immediately locked in a wooden house and his photocopy IC was also confiscated,” Zhang’s mother said.
Zhang also said that when he was being held captive in the wooden house, he overheard conversations about selling him to Thailand.
After Zhang was not contactable for 24 hours, his mother immediately lodged a police report and posted a missing person’s notice on social media. Fortunately, with the help of Zhang’s primary school teacher, they managed to reach out to Zhang on the 2nd evening.
They immediately made their way to JB upon knowing his whereabouts.
RM300 fees for taking care of your child, please!
In another interview, Zhang’s mother revealed that the peer who persuaded her son to leave the house actually asked for a “fee” for looking after her child!
“He told me that the food, the clothes and the accommodation for my son was all on him throughout the 3 days and asked me to give him RM300, or he will not allow my son to go home.”
The family immediately lodged another police report in Petaling Jaya Police Station where they were told off by the police for risking their safety to retrieve Zhang without informing the police.
We hope that this will serve as a solid reminder and lesson not only to Zhang but also to all youth out there who are thinking about making easy money without much effort.
