Staff Reporter:
A 34-year-old Bangladeshi woman who escaped from a scam centre in Cambodia is set to return home following the intervention of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Hoque Choudhury.
According to sources at the Bangladesh Embassy in Thailand’s Bangkok, arrangements have been made to repatriate the woman within the next week through a travel pass issued with the embassy’s assistance, said a press release.
Sources said the woman travelled to Cambodia in August 2025 through a travel agency after being promised a computer-related job with a high salary. Upon arrival, however, her passport was confiscated and she was confined in a scam centre, where she was allegedly forced to engage in financial fraud and online scams involving mobile phones and internet-based activities.
Despite making several attempts to escape, she initially failed. On 20 May, she finally managed to flee the scam centre by evading the traffickers and sought shelter in an undisclosed location. She then directly contacted Minister Ariful through a WhatsApp call and sought assistance to return to Bangladesh.
After receiving the call, the minister instructed the labour counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok to provide immediate support. Embassy officials later contacted the woman through a video call to verify her location. With assistance from members of the Bangladeshi community in Cambodia, she was rescued from Phnom Penh.
The embassy said the process of bringing her back to Bangladesh is currently underway with the cooperation of the Cambodian authorities through the issuance of a travel pass.
Meanwhile, following complaints from Bangladeshi expatriates in Iraq, the minister on 20 May directed the Bangladesh Embassy in Iraq to investigate allegations involving the confiscation of passports by a company.
During the investigation, embassy officials found evidence that the passports of seven Bangladeshi workers had been withheld by the company. Following intervention by embassy officials, all seven expatriates recovered their passports on Wednesday (20 May).
After regaining their passports, the workers reportedly expressed their desire to continue working in Iraq, stating that they had independently arranged their employment.
In a separate incident, the minister also instructed the Bangladesh Embassy in Iraq to take action following complaints from the families of two Bangladeshi expatriates who alleged physical abuse.
According to the allegations, two workers identified as Riju Mia and Ailan Mia travelled to Iraq through a recruiting agency and later fell victim to brokers who allegedly detained and physically abused them while also depriving them of adequate food.
During an investigation, embassy officials located the two Bangladeshis in a rented building in Baghdad’s Arasat residential area. However, officials said they did not find evidence of physical torture or starvation.
The two workers were later repatriated to Bangladesh on 7 May through arrangements made by the recruiting agency with assistance from the embassy.
