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A 23-year-old trainee teacher, Goi Zhen Feng, was tricked into coming to Thailand on January 19 this year.

After getting to know a girl through online dating, he was supposed to meet her in person for the first time.

Instead of romance, he was tricked by an online scam syndicate into becoming a piglet (Cantonese slang for victim of human trafficking) in Myanmar.

While held captive, he contracted Covid-19 and suffered long-term abuse and starvation, weakening his body.

To avoid trouble, the union dumped him outside a hospital in Mae Sot in April.

Mae Sot is a town in western Thailand that shares a border with Myanmar to the west,

too late for help

A nurse helped call the family, but Goh was so sick at the time that he couldn’t speak.

The nurse, who spoke to the father, asked if they were the parents of “Mu Jun Hong”, a nickname given by the union.

It turned out that “Mu Jun Hong” was the pseudonym given to Wei Zhenfeng by the Human Snake Group, but that was several months later.

After a month of treatment, he died on May 11, but his parents only found out after arriving in Thailand.

Chee Kong and his wife Yang Fei Pin arrived in Thailand on August 30 and expect to meet their son in hospital.

They didn’t learn the news of their son’s death until the bad news came the next day.

He and his wife brought a set of clothes, a hat, and a new pair of shoes for Zhenfeng.

They thought they could take their son back to Malaysia for treatment.

Rest in peace

They recently returned to Malaysia with the ashes after their son was cremated.

A Buddhist scripture chanting ceremony was held in Ipoh, where they live, while the funeral will take place today (September 18) in a columbarium.

Throughout the ordeal, parents received help from Assembly Member of Teruntum Sim Chon Sianga PKR MP in Pahang.

Chinese press quoted Sim saying that due to the nickname given to Goh, his parents had to develop a lot of resources to prove their son’s identity.

Expenses included transportation costs, payment for previous hospital treatment, traveling to a mass grave in Thailand to find Goh’s body and finding a
recognized hospital for DNA testing.

The family had to raise funds to pay the hospital bill of around RM40,000 before getting a death certificate to take the DNA test.

Sim also pointed out that it is certain that Goh was tortured to death and suffered beatings and internal damage to his organs.

All the “piglets” were treated very inhumanely. They had to work 19 hours a day. If their performance did not meet the standard, they would be punished physically, including moving bricks under the sun and running 30 laps.

Teruntum MP Sim Chon Sian on the testimony of another “piggy” who was rescued from the same union.

Filled with sorrow and despair

Meanwhile, Goi’s father, Chee Kong, advised young Malaysians to be down-to-earth, even if they have big ambitions to earn money or find a partner.

Chee Kong urged Malaysians, especially young people, to be careful when making new friends online and not to be easily cheated.

READ MORE: Malaysian slaves in Myanmar saw KL woman who disappeared five months ago

He expressed his heartfelt words in an interview with Hong Kong South China Morning Post after returning his son’s ashes to China.

These fraudulent syndicates will use many methods to deceive. If the first method fails, the second method will be used. If unsuccessful, the third method will be used until everyone is fooled.

Goi Chee Kong to SCMP for being alert to the many tactics used by online scam syndicates.

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