Thailand to roll out safety measures for tourists after job scams: Michael Cheuk

Thailand is "highly concerned" regarding Hong Kong tourists being lured to Southeast Asian countries via Thai soil and detained for illegal work, Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip said after leading a dedicated task force to meet with officials from the two Thai law enforcement agencies.

Returning to Hong Kong after a two-day visit on Tuesday night, Cheuk said Thailand would roll out different measures to protect tourists' safety.

That includes a 24-hour hotline for tourists to seek assistance, which supports eight languages, as well as a mobile application that will allow tourists to get in touch and share their location with law enforcement.

He added that among the 12 Hongkongers that have been abducted, 11 were believed to be in the vicinity of Myanmar, while the remaining one was believed to be in Cambodia.

When asked about the rationale behind the government's decision to deploy a dedicated task force to Thailand despite confirming that the 12 Hongkongers were not present in the country, Cheuk emphasized the presence of armed forces along the Thai-Myanmar border poses security concerns for the team.

He added that the Thai authorities had set up official and unofficial communication channels with their neighboring countries and that did help in providing support to the victims as well as formulating a plan to rescue the 12 individuals.

Cheuk mentioned that the team had received a petition letter from Kelvin, a family member of one of the 12 abducted Hongkongers and the authorities will reach him out to follow up on the case.

This came after mainland actor Wang Xing disappeared after visiting a Thai town bordering Myanmar early this month. He was later rescued by Thai police from a scam center where he had been lured by human traffickers.

Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister publication, earlier reported that Success Universe Group executive director Hoffman Ma Ho-man was nearly abducted during his trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

Ma recalled that a man, who dressed as a police officer, asked him to step out of his taxi after accusing the driver of running a red light when his family was returning to their hotel.

Fortunately, Ma insisted not to go with the "officer" as he should not be at fault for the driver's breach of driving regulations, and they managed to return to their hotel and eventually back to Hong Kong.

But his three children were "extremely terrified" by the incident, and Ma's friends later told him that there should only be two possibilities, either being robbed at the scene or being kidnapped.

(Michael Shum and Kelvin Wan)