'If we had RM9k, why would my son go to work in Cambodia?'

The mother of a job scam victim in Cambodia has pleaded for Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s intervention to bring her son back home.

The 40-year-old woman who only wanted to be known as Tan, said her son, Kam Weng Jun, has been at the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia since Sept 23, after he ran away from the syndicate.

"My son went to Cambodia on June 2. He only contacted me once after arriving, and then became uncontactable.

"I lodged a report with the local police on June 5, and on Sept 23, he called me to say that he has escaped from the clutches of the syndicate," she told Malaysiakini, adding that her son went straight to the Malaysian embassy to seek help.

She claimed that the embassy, however, is imposing a "mind-boggling" US$2,076, or RM9,494, to bring Kam back home.

"If we had RM9,000 to spare, why would we send him to Cambodia to work?" she asked.

Malaysiakini has contacted Wisma Putra on the matter and is awaiting a reply.

Meanwhile, an NGO which dealt with Tan's case expressed disappointment with the conduct of several officers at the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia.

"Just two weeks ago, we brought a job scam victim back from Cambodia without the intervention of the Malaysian embassy there.

"We only had to pay US$10 (RM46.32) a day, for overstaying, and the ticket just cost RM450.

"Why is the embassy charging such exorbitant rates?" asked Indrani Selvakumar, the secretary of Pertubuhan Peneraju Insan.

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