TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Some 55 out of the 60 Indonesian nationals falling victim to an employment scam and held captive in Cambodia have been rescued by the local authority, the Indonesian Police has confirmed.

"Some 55 Indonesian nationals have been rescued by the Cambodian police," the Indonesian Police's Head of Public Information Bureau of the Public Relations Division Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan stated on Saturday.

The Indonesian nationals fell victim to a fake investment company based in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and they are now being questioned by the local police, he said.

The 55 rescued Indonesian nationals consisted of 47 men and eight women, he added.

"The 55 Indonesian nationals are now being questioned by the Cambodian police in Sihanoukville," the brigadier general stated.

He revealed that the rescued Indonesian nationals would be removed to Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

"Probably it will be tomorrow (Sunday, July 31) that they will be removed to Phnom Penh," Ramadhan noted.

In an effort to spot and rescue the Indonesian nationals held captive, the national police, through its attache in the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia, had coordinated with the embassy's Defence Attache, Colonel Rizal, he stressed.

The case of the Indonesian nationals held captive by a fake investment company was first revealed by social media account @angelinahui97, who appealed to the authority, particularly Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, to release them from incarceration.

Following the revelation, Governor Pranowo instructed Central Java Manpower and Transmigration Office to follow up on the case and coordinate with relevant authorities.

Follow-up coordination with the authorities revealed that the total number of Indonesian nationals held captive is 60, while according to the social media account the number is 53.

The whereabouts of the Indonesians held captive was later detected on Phum 1, Preah Sihanouk, Cambodia, with the coordinate of 10°37'33.0"N 103°30'08.7”E.

ANTARA

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