A 31-year-old Chinese actor was recently rescued from a scam center in Myanmar after he went missing during a trip to Thailand after his girlfriend sought help on social media. according to BBCWang Xing was missing for two days, his girlfriend turned to social media for help. “We have no choice but to borrow the power of the Internet to raise our voices,” he wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on January 5. His post quickly went viral and garnered nationwide attention, prompting Mr Wang to intervene governmentally. On January 7, the 31-year-old actor was finally rescued from a scam center in Myanmar.
A day later, Mr Wang appeared for the first time with Thai police. according to BBCThe actor revealed that he was lured into the facility on the pretext of a lucrative job opportunity. He said he went to Bangkok for an acting job offered to him on WeChat. She told police that she realized she had been kidnapped when she crossed a river in Myanmar and saw the basic living conditions there.
He also told Thai police that about 50 Chinese nationals were being held at his place alone. Notably, these centers, allegedly run by organized criminal networks, force victims to perform online scams and other fraudulent operations.
The actor’s quick but mysterious rescue has now raised questions about the fate of those trapped inside the scam centre. “We are desperate to know if the remaining Chinese citizens with him have been rescued,” one social media user wrote on Weibo. Another commented, “Other people’s lives are lives too.”
Speaking to police, Mr Wang revealed that he had been invited to Thailand to act in a film, introducing himself as the production’s associate director. He said he was on a shoot in Thailand around 2018 and didn’t suspect it was something different.
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He then disappeared on January 3 in Mae Sot, a Thai border town notorious for smuggling activities. His girlfriend wrote on Weibo that she and her brother tried to catch the actor and involve the police, however, “with very little results”.
But as Mr Wang’s girlfriend’s post attracted nationwide attention, a case was finally filed in China, and the embassy in Thailand also said they attached great importance to the case. The next day, Thai and Chinese officials announced that the 31-year-old man had been rescued.
Details of the rescue have been sparse. Authorities have not disclosed the exact location of the scam centre. However, Mr Wang told police that after reaching Bangkok, he was picked up in a car and taken to Myanmar, where his head was shaved and he was given training on how to deceive people over phone calls. Was forced. He also claimed that at the scam centre, he could not eat much food and did not have time to use the toilet.
Mr Wang’s disappearance has prompted authorities to look into other similar cases. Thai police are reportedly investigating the case of another Chinese model who went missing at the Thai-Myanmar border after being promised work in Thailand.
The China Federation of Radio and Television Association also said in a statement on Tuesday that “many artistes” have gone abroad on the false promise of filming and have suffered “serious damage to their personal and financial security” as a result. “We are very concerned about this,” the statement said.
