A 33-year-old beautician has pleaded guilty to one fraud charge after two women who believed they were travelling to Thailand were taken to a Myanmar scam compound.
The women were offered free flights and accommodation, then told they would carry Thai baht in Thailand for payment. The defendant said she would travel with them but did not board the flight, telling one of the women that someone would collect them after they arrived in Bangkok.
A Thai man picked them up in a white vehicle and they later realised they were being taken towards Chiang Mai. Groups of men then moved them through several vehicles and across a river. Some carried wooden sticks and knives, while others carried firearms. The women were eventually told they had been sold to a Myanmar scam compound.
They were told they had been bought for US$27,000 and would have to carry out scams targeting wealthy overseas Chinese. They were told they would need to pay US$500,000 or generate the equivalent amount in revenue to leave.
The women contacted their families, who made separate payments for their release. One family paid 1.1 million Thai baht, about HK$258,000, plus RMB100,000; the other paid about HK$212,000. The women were released on 8 January 2025 and returned to Hong Kong three days later.
Defence counsel argued that the case did not involve intimidation or violence. The sentencing judge rejected that description, pointing to the women being repeatedly transported by armed men, while accepting that the evidence did not show they had suffered physical injuries. Sentencing was adjourned to 27 October 2026.