At a press conference joined by two Malaysians who were recently rescued from syndicates in Cambodia, Teruntum assemblyman Sim Chon Siang said there were many other Malaysians who were still trapped in those countries.

“He (the prime minister) has to make the call to speed up their return. There are a lot of Malaysians still stuck in those countries,” said Sim.

The victims present with Sim – known simply as Miss A and Miss B – had been trapped in Cambodia since June.

Both had fallen victim to a false job advertisement and had travelled to Thailand under the pretence of working as “shopping runners”, but were whisked away to Cambodia upon arriving in Bangkok.

To be released, each family was forced to pay the syndicate US$35,000 (around RM157,000). The two women were then sent to a Cambodian police station where they had no access to food and water for two days.

“After taking their statements, the police did nothing. They didn’t give them food or water,” Sim claimed.

Two days later, they were sent to an immigration detention centre, where they were forced to stay for two months.

“Why is it that the Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh needed two months (to facilitate their return)?” he asked, adding that when questioned on the delay, the embassy said their requests were being processed.

Upon learning of the situation, Sim said he reached out to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and both Miss A and Miss B were able to return to Malaysia two days later.