30 Indonesians held by Malaysian group in HCMC for phone scams

Leaw Boon Kiat, 36, Thong Joon King, 32 and Gan Ban Lee, 42, are being investigated for brokering illegal entry. The police are clarifying the involvement of the other three.

Six Malaysians are at a police station in HCMC, March 2023. Photo courtesy of the police

On March 12, the 30 Indonesians came to the Consulate General of Indonesia in HCMC to report about being smuggled into Vietnam and detained inside a building in Binh Thanh District.

They were forced to masquerade as bank employees and other Indonesian authorities and make scam calls back to Indonesia to swindle money from people, the Indonesians said.

When police raided the building in question, the Malaysians had already escaped, but officers later found six of them renting a room at the Tan Son Nhat hotel in Tan Binh District and arrested them. These people had already bought flight tickets, which were supposed to get them out of Vietnam on March 13.

A house in HCMC's Binh Thanh District where a group of Indonesian people have been held and forced to make scamming phone calls. Photo courtesy of HCMC Police

Leaw Boon Kiat said the group posted advertisements through a tourism firm in Indonesia to look for people working in hotels and restaurants. They then persuaded 30 people to come to Vietnam. Upon arrival, these people had their passports and phones taken away by the Malaysian group, and brought to the building in Binh Thanh District.

Leaw asked his wife, a 31-year-old Vietnamese, to rent the building in Binh Thanh for VND109 million ($4,635) a month.

The police seized dozens of mobile phones, laptops, SIM and bank cards as evidence.

Vietnamese authorities are cooperating with the Interpol and the Aseanpol for to expand the investigation.