Harrowing Tale

Document of people believed to be trapped in Myanmar starts circulating

- Aw Cheng Wei and Michelle Ng

CHONGQING/BEIJING - A Chinese TV actor's swift rescue from a fraud farm on Jan 7 after going missing at the Thai-Myanmar border has reinvigorated hopes for the families of those who remain captive, as they mount fresh pressure on the authorities to do the same for their loved ones.

Mr Wang Xing, 31, had disappeared on Jan 3 from Mae Sot, a Thai town bordering Myanmar, after travelling there for what he believed was a role in a filming project, Chinese media reported. The Chinese embassy in Thailand confirmed that he was rescued from a scam centre on Jan 7.

His speedy rescue is casting a fresh spotlight on the scourge of scam centres that have sprouted in parts of Indochina, while drawing mixed feelings from the families of others who have disappeared suddenly, frustrated by the lack of any progress in tracing their loved ones. Some have been missing for years.

Several private WeChat groups consisting of people who have family members believed to be trafficked have quickly emerged since Mr Wang's case gripped China.

In these groups and on Chinese social media platform Weibo, a crowd-sourced document with statistics on people believed to be trapped in northern and eastern Myanmar has been circulating.

By the evening on Jan 10, The Sunday Times noted information about 850 missing people in the document, which began circulating on Jan 9 with more than 170 names.

Netizens in China have also pressed the authorities to provide details on the 50-plus Chinese nationals that Mr Wang - a relatively unknown artiste before this incident - said were held captive with him.

ST reached out to China's Ministry of Public Security, the Thai embassy in Beijing and the Thai consulate in Hong Kong for fresh comment on this story late on Jan 10.