Deaf-mute people are being trafficked to Cambodia for online gambling?
It sounds like nonsense. But the cruel thing is that this is a living reality.
In May of this year, compatriot Wang Dong received a request from Tan Zhu, a deaf-mute friend, saying that he was trapped in an online gambling company in Sihanoukville- and hoped that Wang Dong would give him help, because Wang Dong has many deaf-mute friends.
Tan Zhu was born in Hunan. He was deaf and mute from birth and has no parents. He grew up in a welfare institution in Changsha, Hunan.
As an adult, he gained self-reliance skills and worked for a while in KFC.
In November 2020, Tan Zhu came to Chengdu, Sichuan with a some other deaf-mute friends, one of whom introduce him to a relative who told Tan Zhu that he find a high-paying job abroad. “You only need to type and do customer service. The work is easy and the salary is high, and air tickets are included.”
Because it was introduced by a relative of a friend, Tan Zhu agreed and sent his passport to the other party for a visa.
In December, after the visa was issued, Tan Zhu and 7 other deaf-mute people came to Cambodia by plane from Kunming, Yunnan, and were then sent to an online gambling company in Sihanoukville. There were also about 10 Quanjian people (deaf-dumb people’s name for normal people) also with them.
The people at the online gambling company confiscated Tan Zhu’s mobile phone and gave him a brand new mobile phone to download Telegram, which was how they communicated with each other.
The people at the online gambling company taught Tan Zhu how to play online gambling. Only then did Tan Zhu understand that he was not doing “customer service” .
Tan Zhu was unwilling to do online gambling, so he was passive and sabotaged his work, and was finally locked in a “little black room” by the company.
In the small black room, the director of the online gambling company beat and intimidated Tan Zhu- and said he was going to be thrown into the sea, or he was going to be operated on to sell his organs, or he was going to be sold to another group who would be even more cruel.
As an orphan without or money, he couldn’t pay the bosses for his release, and Tan Zhu was sold to another company for 50,000 yuan ($7,700).
Both parties were in front of Tan Zhu, as one side paid the fee in US dollars, and the other handed Tan Zhu’s passport. Tan Zhu watched as he was resold.
After learning about Tan Zhu’s situation, he was soon sold to another company.
In the third online gambling company, Tan Zhu stayed for half a month, but still had no money to pay. The company sold him to a fourth group, who found out he had no money, and because he was deaf and dumb, he didn’t know how to use computers. In the end, the owner of this online gambling company showed compassion and released him.
After nearly half a year of his ordeal, Tan Zhucai finally regained his freedom.
After Tan Zhu got in touch with Wang Dong, Wang Dong contacted Sister Li, the deputy captain of the volunteer team of the Guangdong Fellowship Charity Foundation, hoping to help.
After Tan Zhu was free, Sister Li contacted Shen Yunhong, the general manager of Baichuan Springs. Because Tan Zhu was born in an unfamiliar place and was unable to communicate with others, Shen Yunhong sent someone to receive Tan Zhu and sent him to Phnom Penh.
Since Tan Zhu is from Hunan, Chen An, secretary general of the China-Cambodia Business Association and Guangdong Fellowship Charity Foundation, got in touch with Wu Guanghua, president of the Hunan General Chamber of Commerce. Wu Guanghua decided to give Tan Zhu the help he could.
Subsequently, Li Xinhua and Zhang Wenfeng, executive vice-chairmen of the Hunan General Chamber of Commerce, took Tan Zhu to the Hunan General Chamber of Commerce, arranged hotel accommodation for him, and sent him for COVID testing.
Tan Zhu suffers from other diseases and has special physique and cannot be vaccinated, so Li Xinhua and Zhang Wenfeng arranged for him to eat in the hotel to minimize external contact.
Tan Zhu said that he is unfamiliar with Cambodia and has no friends. He grew up in a welfare institution and has not seen his parents for 20 years. Because he has not been vaccinated, he is afraid of COVID and public security, so he hopes to return to China as soon as possible.
In order to satisfy Tan Zhu’s wish, the Hunan General Chamber of Commerce purchased a ticket for Tan Zhu to return to China on August 30.
But recently there was bad news. The flight back home on August 30 was cancelled, and it is difficult to buy air tickets in the near future. Tan Zhu may need to stay in Cambodia for a long time. Since he cannot get vaccinated, the chamber of commerce dare not arrange for him to work. The subsequent living and medical expenses are all problems.
To this end, the Hunan General Chamber of Commerce and the Charity Committee of the China-Cambodia Business Association jointly issued a fundraising initiative, calling on caring people to lend a helping hand. DONATION DETAILS (SOURCE)
