A Hong Kong police officer tricked into working at a scam farm in Cambodia has escaped the premises and is “safe,” according to the government.
A government spokesperson told Ming Pao on Monday that the policeman was safe in Cambodia and that authorities had dispatched officers to assist him.
The spokesperson also said that the Immigration Department had reached out to China’s Foreign Ministry office in Hong Kong and the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, as well as the family of the policeman, to seek more information and offer assistance.
The news comes after Police Commissioner Joe Chow confirmed on Sunday the safety of the police officer, who is a constable stationed at Ma On Shan Police Station, according to local media reports.
The constable previously went missing after he applied for leave, saying his mother had been seriously injured in a traffic accident in Guangxi province, mainland China.
Last week, the constable made multiple calls without a caller ID to Ma On Shan Police Station, providing his full name and police ID, saying that he had fled a Cambodian scam farm, and asking for help.
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Scam farms in Southeast Asian countries have tricked people around the world, including Hongkongers, into working there. Scammers often use employment traps that promise quick cash to lure profit-seeking individuals, only to abduct them to the scam farms upon their arrival.
The Security Bureau has set up a task force to assist Hongkongers trapped in scam farms in Southeast Asia.
The government have received 29 reports of Hongkongers allegedly being stuck in scam farms in the region since last year, excluding the latest case of the policeman, according to official figures.
Among the 29 cases, 26 people have already returned to Hong Kong, and two said they did not require further assistance. The Security Bureau task force has said it is following up with the last remaining case.
