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Exclusive | Malaysian victim’s death linked to Asia’s ‘hell on Earth’ scam trade
- Goi Zhen Feng died in Thailand, near the Myanmar border, after falling victim to Chinese gangs preying on vulnerable young people
- ‘No matter offers online of meeting friends, high-paying jobs, don’t be cheated ... these syndicates will use any method to lure you’, his grieving parents say
Reading Time:5 minutes
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Aidan Jonesin Si Racha
When Goi Zhen Feng’s parents travelled to Thailand, they were certain they would bring their eldest child back alive and safe to Malaysia. Instead, a fortnight later, they will leave carrying the urn containing his ashes.
The 23-year-old trainee teacher died alone on May 11, his family oblivious, in a hospital in the western Thai border town of Mae Sot, a final stop in a chaotic, cruel and unintended journey into the dark heart of Asia’s scam world.
At a Buddhist cremation ceremony in Si Racha, a coastal town in eastern Thailand, his grief-stricken parents on Thursday gently laid their son’s hoodie and backpack into the simple, white casket holding his young body.
As the casket disappeared inside the incinerator, his inconsolable mother, Yang Fei Pin, clasped the arm of her husband Goi Chee Kong.
“I was there watching in the delivery room when my wife gave birth to him. My heart was so full of joy,” said Goi Chee Kong, a 50-year-old mechanic. “When I saw my son’s body, you (know) the pain in my heart.”
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‘They will punish you’: Malaysian’s death connected to internet scam in Thailand
‘They will punish you’: Malaysian’s death connected to internet scam in Thailand
‘First traced death’
Malaysian officials believe Goi Zhen Feng’s death is among the first to be formally tracked back to scam gangs preying on Asia’s youth for its workforce, and its citizens for their money.
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