A Malaysian family is desperately seeking answers after their 21-year-old daughter vanished under suspicious circumstances in what appears to be a possible cross-border love scam. The young woman, who worked as a cashier in Singapore, has been missing since April 2025 after allegedly travelling to Thailand with a man claiming to be her boyfriend.
Her brother, a 25-year-old identified as Qi, revealed at a press conference led by the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) that his sister departed from Senai International Airport for Bangkok on April 28, believing she was meeting her Chinese boyfriend.
Last Contact Before Silence
Just days after arriving in Thailand, the girl reached out to her aunt on WhatsApp, asking for a loan of RM1,700 (around S$480). Alarm bells rang when the aunt tried to call her back — instead, a man with a Chinese accent picked up the phone.
“He claimed to be her boyfriend and said she didn’t want to talk to us for now. He told us to go through him for all communication,” said Qi. The family, growing increasingly concerned, transferred the money as requested — but the girl has not been contactable since.
Feared to Be Smuggled into Myanmar
Worry escalated after they confirmed with the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok that she had indeed landed in Thailand. However, there was no official record of her leaving the country, a troubling sign in cases involving human trafficking.
According to MHO Secretary-General Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim, this pattern is consistent with past trafficking cases where victims are smuggled out of Thailand into Myanmar via illicit routes. “Many of these girls are tricked with false promises of love or jobs, only to end up being trafficked into syndicates,” he said.
Family Appeals for Public Help
The family, in coordination with MHO, has released the young woman’s photo to the public in hopes of tracking her down. They are urging anyone who may have seen or communicated with her to come forward.
The organisation is also calling for greater awareness of online love scams, especially those involving foreign nationals and social media platforms, where young victims are lured with affection, only to be manipulated and isolated.
Love Scams and Human Trafficking: A Dangerous Link
Cases like this highlight the growing convergence between romance scams and human trafficking syndicates in Southeast Asia. Vulnerable individuals, especially young women, are often manipulated into crossing borders, after which they are cut off from family and fall under the control of traffickers.
The incident echoes recent cases of Malaysians being trapped in scam centres in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos — often after being duped through fake job offers or relationships.
Singaporean and Malaysian residents are reminded to always verify the identity of people met online and to exercise extreme caution when travelling overseas under questionable circumstances.
Anyone with information on the missing woman’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact local authorities or reach out to MHO.
The girl’s family continues to hold out hope for her safe return and remains in close contact with regional authorities as investigations continue.