13-11-2023 (SINGAPORE) In a harrowing tale of exploitation and survival, Mr. Francis Kamugisha, a Ugandan national, endured seven months of forced labor in scam mills located in Laos and Myanmar. Kamugisha was enticed to Southeast Asia in August 2022 under the pretense of an IT job opportunity, after struggling to find stable employment in Dubai.
Initially offered an IT manager position at a data management company in Laos, with a monthly salary of US$1,500 (S$2,040), Kamugisha eagerly accepted the opportunity. However, upon arriving in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, he sensed something amiss when armed guards patrolled the compound and he was presented with a different contract than the one previously agreed upon.
Refusing to sign the altered contract, Kamugisha discovered that his belongings, including his phone and passport, had been confiscated. Coerced by the criminals, he was forced to work in a scam compound in Ton Pheung district, situated on the border with Myanmar, after being told he would need to pay 16,000 yuan (S$3,030) to leave.
After spending two months in Ton Pheung, Kamugisha was transported by boat to Tachileik, Myanmar, another scam compound within the notorious Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. This region has gained notoriety due to its association with transnational crimes, including human trafficking, drug production, and illegal wildlife trade.
According to a United Nations (UN) report published in August, criminal gangs have been exploiting hundreds of thousands of individuals, forcing them to work in scam and illegal gambling centers across Southeast Asia. Kamugisha found himself trapped in a fraud factory, where he felt compelled to work as a scammer in order to survive.
The conditions in these compounds were brutal. Kamugisha was subjected to 18-hour workdays with no days off, and he was prohibited from sleeping for more than four to five hours a day. Electric tasers were used to wake the workers, and failure to comply with the scammers’ demands resulted in physical abuse.
Mina Chiang, the founder of Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), a British social enterprise that fights modern slavery by providing research and training services, revealed that victims have been beaten to death or had their fingers severed as a means of intimidation. She emphasized that such acts were intended to instill fear and force compliance.
Kamugisha’s role involved assuming the identity of an alluring businesswoman and manipulating men into falling in love with the character he portrayed. This emotional connection was exploited to convince them to invest in fraudulent schemes. Kamugisha shared that scripts were provided, and he was trained in the art of romancing victims, with conversations steered toward building a future together. It typically took two weeks to a month to establish a strong emotional bond with the victims, who were predominantly based in the United States and Europe due to Kamugisha’s proficiency in English.
Victims often sold their properties to make investments, which weighed heavily on Kamugisha’s conscience. However, he was powerless to change his circumstances as his sole focus was on survival. Managers monitored the workers closely, with whiteboards in the office keeping track of the sums cheated from victims. Kamugisha witnessed daily deposits of up to US$50,000 being made by victims.
The scam syndicates even traded workers among different compounds. Kamugisha himself was resold four times over a seven-month period, each time to a different compound housing between 30 and 80 workers. He noted that the criminals behind these syndicates were of Chinese origin.
Despite enduring unimaginable hardships, Kamugisha refused to give up hope. He sought help from various organizations, including embassies, the United Nations, Interpol, and human rights agencies such as the International Justice Mission (IJM). To avoid detection, he deleted the messages he sent after reaching out for assistance.
In February 2023, the criminals in charge of the scam compounds interrogated Kamugisha about his attempts to escape and questioned him regarding his communications. However, he remained silent, prompting them to take him to a military barracks where he was further questioned by military personnel about his illegal entry into the country.
Fortunately, an unidentified Good Samaritan intervened, persuading the officers not to arrest Kamugisha. This individual then facilitated his travel back to Laos, where Kamugisha, without a passport, waited for five months to receive police clearance to leave.
To this day, Kamugisha remains unsure which organization played a crucial role in his rescue from the scam compound. He believes that a representative from the International Justice Mission, with whom he had been communicating, worked in collaboration with embassies to exert pressure on local politicians, ultimately securing his release.
In July 2023, nearly a year after being trafficked, Kamugisha finally returned to Uganda. Currently, he works as an intern at HRC, collaborating with various agencies to assist victims in escaping scam compounds.
Reflecting on the ordeal he endured, Kamugisha expressed his deep indignation at the cruelty inflicted upon fellow human beings by these syndicates. He described their actions as pure evil, capable of ruining lives without any remorse or conscience. Despite the trauma he experienced, Kamugisha considers himself fortunate to have survived and is determined to contribute to the fight against such abhorrent practices.
