Chinese actor Wang Xing’s (王星) disappearance shocked the Chinese and Hong Kong entertainment industry, causing fear about false job opportunities in Southeast Asia. Most recently, Malaysian-born actress Jacquelin Ch’ng (庄思敏) shared how these scammers approach potential victims.
The Hong Kong-based star recently shared a message she received from an unknown sender. The message, written in simplified Chinese, was regarding a job opportunity for Jacquelin. The text says, “Dear Ms Jacquelin, We are a Thai advertising company with a swimsuit brand who would like to invite you to collaborate. We’re asking for the right to use the photos for six months, and the shooting location will be in Phuket or Pattaya.”
The company also said they were sincere about the job opportunity and offered Jacquelin six digits for the shoot. However, the 44-year-old was understandably suspicious of the message. In her captions, Jacquelin wrote, “I received this advertisement invitation, and it said I had to go to Thailand to shoot.” As the message didn’t include any other information about the company, the actress voiced uncertainty about the invitation.
It’s worth noting that Jacquelin never mentioned that the message was from potential scammers. However, netizens believed there is a high probability that it is. Following Wang Xing’s disappearance and subsequent rescue, many fans of Chinese and Hong Kong public figures voiced concern about their favourite stars receiving job opportunities in Southeast Asia. Chinese singer Wowkie Zhang (大张伟) even allegedly cancelled his Malaysian show due to pressure from his Chinese fanbase.
However, the human trafficking criminal group behind the abduction of several Chinese natives, including Wang Xing, has been arrested. Meanwhile, Thailand authorities are taking measures to ensure the country’s tourism industry won’t be affected by these recent scam park cases. Chinese authorities also reminded citizens to be wary of suspicious job opportunities and that they require relevant visas to work in Thailand.
We’re glad Jacquelin was cautious about the message she received – but what are your thoughts on this? Do you think the message came from a human trafficking criminal group?
Sources: China Press, Instagram
