A Taiwanese man was sentenced to six years and four months in prison for luring people to Myanmar with lucrative job offers and forcing them to carry out online scams.
The man, surnamed Hsiao (蕭), is believed to be part of a human trafficking syndicate that also includes a Chinese national identified only as Brother Nan (南哥), and another Taiwanese man surnamed Cheng (鄭), who is currently being investigated by prosecutors, the Taipei District Court said in its verdict on Thursday.
The alleged human trafficking ring was luring debt-ridden people abroad with false job advertisements posted on Instagram by Hsiao, promising easy work and high pay, it said.
Photo: Wang Meng-lun, Taipei Times
In March last year, a victim was led to believe that he would be working in a customer service job for an online gaming enterprise in Thailand that would pay a basic monthly salary of NT$30,000 (US$962), where he could be earning up to NT$1 million per month, depending on his performance, the court said.
The man, who had vehicle loans of NT$400,000, was also promised that the company would cover his airfare to Thailand and his accommodation and food costs, and that he would have the option to return to Taiwan at anytime he wished, according to the court.
The arrangements were made by Hsiao, and the victim went to Thailand, then he was smuggled into Myanmar to work on a casino compound, carrying out online scams, the court said.
If he failed to achieve a certain level of performance, he was subjected to physical punishment that included forcing him to run and do jumps, it said.
The victim and others in the compound had no freedom of movement, as they were illegal workers in Myanmar, and armed troops were patrolling the area, it added.
Hsiao was earning commissions from his fraudulent activities and moved about freely in Myanmar and Thailand, it said.
When the Taiwanese victim could no longer stand the situation, he asked to return to Taiwan, but was told by Brother Nan that he would either have to find a replacement or pay a fine of NT$160,000 for early termination of his work contract, the verdict said.
The victim then handed over all the money he had to Brother Nan, which was about NT$70,000, and he asked his girlfriend in Taiwan to send more than NT$80,000 to a designated bank account so could pay his captors and return to Taiwan, the verdict said, adding that there were four other victims in that particular job scam.
During the trial in the Taipei District Court, Hsiao was found guilty of using fraudulent means to lure people to other countries for his own profit.
He was also found guilty of human trafficking, including recruiting and confining a person by force or intimidation and forcing them to work without commensurate pay.
The ruling can be appealed.
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