HCMC - The HCMC Police Department today, March 24, filed charges against three Malaysians for illegally keeping Indonesian people in Vietnam for fraudulent purposes, reported the local media.

The Malaysian trio -- Leaw Boon Kiat, Thong Joon Kin and Gan Ban Lee -- had been found to force 30 Indonesians to impersonate prosecutors, police officers and bank employees to make phone calls and request money transfers from people in Indonesia in order to expropriate their assets. Initial investigation results showed the 30 Indonesians had been locked up at the house at 455 Binh Quoi Street, Ward 28, Binh Thanh District. When the police arrived there, the three Malaysians had already fled. The police found that they were renting a room at Tan Son Nhat Hotel and had purchased flight tickets to flee Vietnam on the afternoon of March 13. The police detained six individuals who were born in the 1980s and the 1990s -- Leaw Boon Kiat, Tee Cheng Sheng, Leaw Boon Leong, Thong Joon Kin, Poon Sook Yin, and Gan Ban Lee -- for questioning. They confessed that Leaw Boon Kiat talked 30 Indonesians into going to Vietnam for jobs in the hospitality and restaurant sectors. Those Indonesians were divided into six groups, with the first arriving in Vietnam in November 2022 and the last coming on March 10. The police seized two cars, 54 mobile phones, nine laptops, 21 bank cards, 38 simcards, and two mobile network broadcasting devices as tools for carrying out fraudulent activities. The local police are seeking more evidence and coordinating with Interpol and Aseanpol to expand the investigation of the case.