JOHOR BAHRU – Mr K. Vishnu, 23, from Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor-born B. Gopi, 22, left their respective home towns in Malaysia with less than RM200 (S$58) in their pockets, thinking that they would land jobs in Singapore.

Their hopes were dashed when they fell victim to a job scam. The duo are now working as security guards in Johor Bahru.

Mr Vishnu said he and his friend came across a job offer on social media and called the number listed in the post.

“The person claimed to be an agent and told us that he had been helping locals get jobs across the Causeway. He said there were jobs in Singapore’s hotel industry waiting for us with a monthly salary of $1,700.

“The agent then told us to come down to Johor Bahru for an interview, which was just a formality as the jobs were ours,” he said, adding that they left their home towns at the end of April.

“He then asked us to pay him RM300 as part of a processing fee, but I told him that we would make the payments to him personally.”

As the man had assured them of jobs in Singapore, Mr Vishnu said they decided to board a bus for the southward journey to Johor Bahru.

When they arrived at the Larkin Sentral bus terminal, calls to the “agent” went unanswered.

“At one point, I even borrowed a phone from a stranger at the bus terminal and got through to him. But he immediately cut off the line once he realised it was me calling,” Mr Vishnu said, adding that they have yet to file a police report.

Mr Vishnu, who is an orphan, said he and his friend were forced to stay along the corridors of the bus terminal for about two days as they had no money and nowhere to go.

“We had enough only for food. By the third day, we could not even afford food, let alone money for bus tickets to go back to our home towns.

“Luckily, we found an NGO (non-governmental organisation) that could help us out,” he said.

He added that they have learnt from their mistakes, and urged others to be careful when they come across offers on social media.

Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Johor Bahru founder James Ho said the organisation later helped the two friends register at Anjung Singgah, a halfway home for the homeless.

“We helped them by finding them jobs as security guards. They moved out of the home after living there for 21 days and are now renting rooms in town,” Mr Ho said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK