Former researcher tells of overseas fraud gang ordeal

A former Chinese academic researcher has given details of how he was tricked into working for an online fraud gang in Myanmar after confirming he had safely returned to China.

A post from Sina Weibo user "Dubitabam" caught netizens attention on Monday night after the user identified himself as Zhang Shi, the researcher involved in the high-profile case. People were shocked to learn that a well-educated person could become a victim of a telecom fraud gang.

On Tuesday, Zhang's girlfriend, surnamed Yang, confirmed to the news portal thepaper.cn that "Dubitabam" is the account of Zhang who returned to China seven days ago.

"I've overcome many obstacles to return home. It's the result of collective efforts from my family and friends, government bodies, media and many others," Zhang said in the post.

He said he decided to share his story so others could avoid going through the same ordeal. On Tuesday morning Zhang put up a second post.

"It all happened in Myawaddy on the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Because it doesn't border with China, it's really difficult to access from China," he said in the post.

Zhang said the methods used by telecom fraud gangs there and their targets are very different from those in northern Myanmar. To lure people into the scam, the gang members would advertise job opportunities in Thailand because Myanmar is well-known for telecom fraud activities, according to the latest post.

Yang told the media in August that like many who end up taking part in such schemes, Zhang was lured by the promise of a significant income by gang members.

While working as a researcher for the Chinese Academy of Sciences at a botanical park in Jiangxi province last year, the 34-year-old told Yang that an agency had offered him a high-paying job in Southeast Asia as a translator. Zhang told his girlfriend he could use the money to pay off his debts and marry her.

He traveled to Bangkok and was then taken to the border between Thailand and Myanmar. On Aug 16 last year, he crossed the border and arrived in Myawaddy.

Shortly after, Yang said she received a message from Zhang saying that he didn't want to be in Myanmar and was being held captive by the gang.

His cellphone was confiscated and Yang was only able to contact him through a middleman. Zhang told her he worked from an industrial park and his job was to chat with foreigners under false pretenses to defraud them of their money, and he had signed a one-year "contract".

He said he couldn't leave the industrial park because there were armed guards watching, but that he would be able to call her almost every week, Yang said.

His family began to worry when Zhang got in touch with his sister at the end of May and asked her for 120,000 yuan ($16,480) to pay a ransom because his job performance had been "unsatisfactory". He said he had to work 18 hours a day under surveillance and there was no chance of him meeting his targets, so he hoped his family could pay the money to gain his release, his sister said.

She then contacted the police in their home city, who said they would look into the case and suggested that they not pay the ransom.

The police then informed the Chinese embassy in Myanmar and it later issued a travel warning for Chinese citizens intending to visit the country.

Zhang's family ultimately decided to pay the ransom. However, the payment failed to go through and their contact with him was reduced.