A Russian woman received assistance from Thai police yesterday, August 9, after reportedly fleeing across the border into Chiang Rai to escape physical assault in Myanmar. Police are investigating possible links to a call centre scam gang.
Officers from Mae Sai Police Station were called to a supermarket car park after the Russian woman was found with injuries to her arms and legs. She was later identified as 19 year old Mariia Tsygankova and was taken to Mae Sai Hospital for medical treatment before officers questioned her through an interpreter.
Tsygankova told police that she had travelled to China for work before coming to Thailand. She then travelled onwards to Yangon in Myanmar after receiving a job opportunity.
According to her account, she was subsequently taken from Yangon to Tachileik, a border town opposite Mae Sai in Chiang Rai. She said she was assaulted there before deciding to escape into Thailand.
The Russian woman reportedly received assistance from a Thai pickup truck driver travelling through the area. She was taken to the supermarket, where she sought help before police arrived.
Tsygankova reportedly declined to provide further details about the job she had travelled to Myanmar to undertake. She appeared frightened and repeatedly asked for help returning to Russia and contacting her mother.
Tachileik is an area where Myanmar authorities have been conducting operations against call centre scam networks. Police therefore suspect that Tsygankova may have been recruited by such a network and could have been assaulted after allegedly refusing to follow instructions.
Some media reports gave a different account, stating that a call centre scam gang abandoned the Russian woman at the supermarket after she refused to comply with its instructions.
Police are working with Tourist Police to review security camera footage in an attempt to identify and locate the pickup driver who brought Tsygankova to the supermarket. Officers also plan to contact the Russian Embassy in Thailand so that her family can be informed about her condition.
The Russian woman escapes Myanmar case comes amid continuing reports involving foreign nationals seeking help after allegedly becoming involved with scam operations in Myanmar.
In February last year, a Kenyan man sought assistance from Thai authorities after claiming he had escaped from a call centre scam operation in Myanmar. He told officers that he had been assaulted and walked more than 10 kilometres from the neighbouring country before reaching Thailand.
In April last year, seven Chinese nationals were detained in Mae Sot district of Tak province after entering Thailand illegally. They reportedly told authorities that they had worked for a call centre scam operation in Myanmar before being dismissed for poor performance and planned to travel onwards to China.
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