The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government raised travel alert for southeastern Myanmar to red on Friday (Jan 17), following a number of cases of Hong Kong residents being lured to Southeast Asian countries and forced to work at scam farms.

Former district councillor Andy Yu reveals scammers negotiated with family directly through video calls showing victim.

The Hong Kong government has elevated its travel warning for south-eastern Myanmar to a 'significant threat' due to cases of residents being lured into illegal work. Residents are advised to reconsider travel plans,

The government on Friday raised its travel alert for southeastern Myanmar to red, following cases of Hongkongers being lured there and forced to

Hong Kong officials held rare talks in Bangkok this week with Thai counterparts to find ways to bring home those lured from the Asian financial hub and trapped in illegal work in Southeast Asia, seeking to combat a growing trend.Tuesday's talks follow last week's high-profile case of a Chinese actor believed to have been a victim of human trafficking, who went missing after travelling to Thailand, but was later tracked to Myanmar and rescued.The United Nations says border towns in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar have become regional hubs for telecom and other online fraud, with hundreds of thousands trafficked to work in scam centres there."There have been signs of a resurgence in the situation where Hong Kong residents are suspected of being lured to Southeast Asian countries and detained to engage in illegal work," the city's government said on Sunday.Such signs have grown since the second quarter of 2024, it added in a statement.A team led by Hong Kong security official Michael Cheuk met Thai police and government officials on Tuesday to help assist with the safe return of Hong Kong residents as soon as possible, the government said in a subsequent statement.Of 28 requests for help from authorities, 16 of the individuals involved had returned home, while the remaining 12 had "reported restrictions on their movement", it said.On Friday, China's embassy in Myanmar urged vigilance by its citizens against telecom and online fraud following reports of compatriots lured to Myanmar's border town of Myawaddy by online scams that promised "high-paying overseas jobs".Most of the trafficking victims hail from Southeast Asian countries as well as China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, but some also from as far away as Africa and Latin America, the United Nations has said.

The Government raises the outbound travel alert for Myanmar (south-eastern regions) to red, while maintaining an amber alert for the rest of the country.

In view of recent developments, the Hong Kong SAR Government today (17th) raised the Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) level for Myanmar (south-eastern regions) to red, while maintaining an amber OTA for the rest of the country.

Police in Hong Kong on Wednesday said they had made an arrest after two women from the SAR were lured to Southeast Asia and forced to take part in

Singer Eason Chan has canceled his Bangkok concert, originally set for Feb. 22, following an incident in which Chinese actor Wang Xing was reportedly scammed and trafficked to Myanmar shortly after arriving in Bangkok.

The case of Wang Xing, a Chinese actor kidnapped in Thailand and moved to a centre in Myanmar, has put the spotlight back on the human trafficking of Chinese nationals in Southeast Asia. According to

Hong Kong police have arrested a beautician for allegedly luring two young women to Southeast Asia, as authorities grapple with attempts to rescue trafficked Hongkongers held captive in the region.

The Hong Kong government has heightened its travel warning to a 'significant threat' level for south-eastern Myanmar, advising residents to reconsider non-essential travel due to reports of Hong Kong citizens being lured into illegal work activities.