Mukah teenager feared to be victim of job scam, INTERPOL steps in

KUCHING: A 20-year-old woman from Mukah is feared to have fallen victim to a job scam syndicate after travelling from Sarawak to Cambodia.

The case has been handed over to the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) for further investigation, with efforts underway to track her whereabouts.

Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, said she was personally contacted by the victim’s mother, who shared details of her daughter’s movements before losing contact.

According to Fatimah, the woman left Kampung Senau, Oya, and boarded a bus to Kuching, telling her mother she needed to collect belongings from her previous studies in the city.

However, upon arrival in Kuching, she already had a flight ticket to Kuala Lumpur, followed by another to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“Her mother briefly spoke to her after she arrived in Cambodia, but the call was short, and the connection was unclear.

“She mentioned receiving a job offer as a customer service representative and was given RM2,000 to apply for a passport and purchase flight tickets.

“Her entire journey – from Mukah to Kuching, then Kuala Lumpur, and finally Phnom Penh – was communicated to her mother,” Fatimah told reporters after the Ziarah Sumbangsih Raya 2025 event at the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Headquarters today.

Fatimah expressed concerns that the case resembles previous job scam incidents, including a 2019 case where 40 Sarawakians were rescued from Cambodia after being tricked into working for a scam syndicate.

She stressed the importance of public awareness about fraudulent job offers targeting young people and urged parents to remain vigilant in educating their children about job scams.

INTERPOL is now leading the search efforts.

“We cannot simply travel to Cambodia without knowing her exact location.

“The area is vast, and only INTERPOL has the expertise to conduct the investigation.

“For now, we await updates from INTERPOL, and once we have more information, we will determine the next steps.

“Until then, we hope and pray for her safety,” she said.