A Taiwanese fire dancer who was kidnapped in Thailand and held for ransom in Myanmar has described being tortured at the hands of criminal gangs in a facility near the border similar to the notorious KK Park, as one of 12 known scam victims from Hong Kong returned home.
Hsieh Yueh-peng, 27, was picked up by car after arriving in Bangkok in late December in response to a job advertisement he saw on Facebook. His last contact with his family was on Dec. 25.
He was then taken north to the border city of Mae Sot, where he was left in a hotel room for a while, before being taken across the river by boat into Myanmar.
Hsieh’s rescue from an unnamed location came days after Chinese actor Wang Xing was rescued from Myawaddy’s notorious KK Park, and as a Hong Kong man was returned to the city after being held by scammers.
The people who met Hsieh confiscated his cell phone, and drove him to the park, where he was informed that he would only be released if his family paid the US$30,000 ransom.
He was shoved into a small room in handcuffs where seven or eight people beat him from head to toe -- some were carrying guns, electric batons and other weapons.
“When I first got there, they handcuffed me in a small dark room for five days, and beat me,” Hsieh told RFA Mandarin in an interview on Jan. 16. “I could only be released to eat and to go to the bathroom.”
As Hsieh was trained in his new job — scamming others online — he tried to use his computer to send out a distress signal, but was discovered and sent to a “military prison” facility where he was tortured, he said.
“I was handcuffed outside and exposed to the sun for six hours with my shirt off and only given one meal for the whole day,” he said. ‘I slept on the cold ground with only a thin quilt."
The experience was so dire that Hsieh considered taking his own life, yet he also feared being killed.
“They all carried guns, batons, electric batons, and knives,” Hsieh said. “I had to do everything I could to survive, so I played dumb.”
“I tried to think only of good things the whole time, like my family and loved ones waiting for me,” he said. “I didn’t want to die in that hellhole, or in prison.”
Chinese nationals paying off rebels
Hsieh said those in charge were all Chinese nationals, who paid off the rebel militias who control the area. “The area isn’t under the control of the Myanmar government ... so it’s a cash cow for the rebels,” he said.
Inside the park, Hsieh met fellow victims from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, but also from Pakistan and African countries, all of whom were similarly beaten. Reports circulated that some people in other parks had been beaten to death.
Most were lured by scammers on the promise of a job of some kind, or went to Thailand for a date, and were offered bonuses for good performance if they choose to stay, he said. Not everyone is hoping to be rescued.
Hsieh’s family reported him missing to the Taiwanese authorities on Dec. 27. Officials told RFA Mandarin he was rescued in a joint operation between Taiwanese and Thai police, although Taiwan’s foreign ministry declined to give details to maintain operational security.
Hsieh said two Hong Kongers and a Malaysian were brought in on the same day he left the park. After speaking to RFA Mandarin, he went to report to police the cases of other Taiwanese nationals he met inside the park who need rescuing.
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Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Taiwanese to be on “high alert” when traveling to Southeast Asia, as it has assisted in the repatriation of 1,533 of the island’s citizens since mid-2022, all of whom were lured to the scams on the promise of high-paying work.
Around 500 Taiwanese are still trapped in scam parks in the region, the island’s Central News Agency cited the ministry as saying.
Hong Konger returns home
Meanwhile, authorities in Hong Kong said that one of the city’s residents had safely returned to Hong Kong after being rescued due to joint efforts by Chinese diplomats, the city’s Security Bureau-led task force and Thai officials.
“A Hong Kong resident had earlier sought assistance from the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department,” the Bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
Authorities in Hong Kong recently sent a task force to Thailand in a bid to rescue an estimated 12 victims of Myanmar’s notorious scam parks, citing a “resurgence” in criminal activity targeting the city’s residents.
“After he arrived back in Hong Kong, the Security Bureau’s task force also provided assistance to the person and followed up on his case,” it said.
It said 17 out of 28 Hong Kongers who had requested the Bureau’s assistance have now returned to the city.
“For the other 11, their personal freedom has been restricted, but they are still safe and able to communicate with their families,” it said.
No timeline for rescue
Former Yau-Tsim-Mong District Council chairman Andy Yu, who has previously helped Hong Kong families with loved ones in KK Park, said there has been no timeline mentioned for the rescue of the remaining victims, however.
“Naturally there were some expectations, and disappointments,” Yu told RFA Cantonese. “The family members [of victims] had been quite hopeful that the task force visit would be fruitful.”
Deputy Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk said the remaining victims had also been lured by recruitment ads or by offers to carry goods.
He said Thai officials “attached great importance” to securing the remaining victims' release.
“They told us they would do their best to get the imprisoned Hong Kongers safely back to Hong Kong as soon as possible,” he said. “But I can’t honestly say that will happen within a specific timeframe.”
But Yu said people couldn’t understand how Wang Xing and Hsieh could be rescued within a few days of going missing, while some of the Hong Kongers have been missing for months.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie.