SHAH ALAM: Police will summon the 47 Malaysians who were previously detained in a Cambodian prison.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said this is to get a more detailed picture on the syndicate behind the incident.
"Our first step is to know the real story, how they entered the country (Cambodia), what was promised to them, the company offering the services.
"We want to see if there are elements of cheating, their motivation and so on. For instance, did the company fulfill their promises with regard to accommodation, facilities, etc. We also want to see if there are elements of human trafficking," he said at a press conference after attending the Selangor police contingent level investiture ceremony of the Pingat Jasa Pahlawan Negara medal held at Dewan IPK Utama, here, today.
Also present were Bukit Aman Management director Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar and Selangor police chief Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin.
Noor Rashid said police were not discounting the possibility that the syndicate's role in Malaysia was to hire workers as they cooperated with a syndicate in Cambodia.
He said the investigation was being conducted under Section 26 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007.
Earlier, police identified several locals suspected to be involved with an employment scam syndicate which led to 47 Malaysians being detained in Cambodia from Dec 11 last year.
This follows eight police reports lodged by victims.
Sarawak Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Supt Mustafa Kamal Gani Abdullah previously said initial investigation found victims were enticed to work in the hotel industry in Cambodia with monthly salaries between US$1,200 to US$1,500 (RM4,880-RM6,107).
He said the victims were however told they had to pay a processing fee between US$200 to US$300 (RM814-RM1,221) with the money to be deposited into the bank account of a local individual.
After the 47 were arrested in Cambodia, several discussions were held between Malaysia and Cambodia which then led to their release from the Banteay Meanchey prison last week.