A man suspected of involvement in a recent human trafficking case has been arrested, after he posted a job advertisement on Facebook, seeking to recruit typists to work in Cambodia and other countries, police said Saturday.

In the ad, the suspect, surnamed Chiu (?), was offering a monthly salary of NT$100,000 (US$3,320.5) for people who could type at least 30 Chinese characters per minute, police said.

The fraudulent job listing, posted in a Chinese-language Facebook group named “Shady Jobs,” said the typists were needed to work in Cambodia and other countries, police said.

An initial investigation tied Chiu to a scam, led by a Taiwanese woman surnamed Chang (?), which had been uncovered earlier and involved recruiting people in Taiwan under false pretenses to work for a fraud ring in Cambodia.

Police said they found that two Taiwanese surnamed Wang (?) and Hsu (?), who had been duped into going to Cambodia to work for the fraud ring, had been driven to the airport by Chiu in June.

On Aug. 18, the Taichung City Police Department Qingshui Precinct and Criminal Investigation Corps picked up Chiu for questioning and seized his cellphone and bank books, then they sent the case to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation.

He is currently being held by prosecutors, with restricted communication, on suspicion of fraud, human trafficking and organized crime.

Regarding the two victims, police said Hsu had returned to Taiwan on July 17, while Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau was still trying to locate Wang through diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, a man surnamed Lin (?), who was conned into going to Cambodia in March to work for a fraud ring, returned to Taiwan in June, according to media reports.

Lin was found dumped on a street in Sihanoukville, after he allegedly had been beaten for refusing to work as a scammer, the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported.

He returned to Taiwan in June on a limited validity passport, with the help of a Taiwanese businessperson, according to the report.

Lin is recovering from his physical injuries, but he has some mental health issues, including difficulty staying focused, according to the report.

The man apparently went to Cambodia in the hope of earning enough to pay a court fine, which was a commutation of a five-month prison sentence for a DUI offense, but he is now serving the sentence, according to the report.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel