A Chinese man has revealed how he was kept as a 'blood slave' in Cambodia, in which he was held captive and had blood drained from him in order for it to be sold on the black market.
The 31-year-old travelled to Cambodia as part of a fake job advert but was kidnapped and held captive for 6 months. During that time, he had 27 ounces of blood removed from his body every month.
The man became so ill the kidnappers allowed him to recover and sold him for £13,598 ($18,500) to other criminals who used him to commit telemarketing fraud. His conditioned worsened and he was soon taken to hospital by the gang where he managed to escape.
At one stage, his veins had stopped being suitable for blood to be extracted and captors began extracting it from his head. The gang then threatened to sell him to organ traffickers who would kill him in order to sell his organs.
The man, who used to work as a security guard in China, said while he was held hostage, at least 6 other men were being kept there as blood slaves.
The Chinese embassy in Cambodia released a statement saying:
"The Chinese embassy in Cambodia once again reminds Chinese citizens who want to work in Cambodia to follow formal channels and not to believe in false adverts for high-paying jobs."
The site where the man saw the fake add is known as 58.com, who have been criticised for not cracking down on such advertisements. Since the story broke, thousands more people have gone online to complain about 58. com's alleged unethical practices.
The company made a statement promising to look into all potential wrongdoing on its platform, a response which was viewed over 200 million times online.
Cambodia has received huge external investment from China in recent years and as such many Chinese individuals have moved to the country for work and business opportunities. However, much of Cambodia remains underdeveloped and potentially dangerous.
[Based on reporting by: The Daily Mail]
COMMENTS