Following the disappearance of teenagers like Peng Yuxuan, a 19-year-old high school student from Shaanxi, and Hu Yixiao, an 18-year-old high school student from Anhui, recent reports have emerged of three more mainland Chinese high school students suspected of being deceived into going to Myanmar.
According to a report by “Elephant News” on July 15, a mother from Hubei province claimed that her son, who is in high school, along with two classmates, went missing before June 24 after heading to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan. It has been over 20 days since they were last heard from.
The mother revealed that her son had met a “big brother” online who enticed them with a quick money-making “mission” of transporting rhino horns to Yunnan and returning home in three days.
Believing the scheme to be true, the three children flew to Kunming on June 24. Her son called her once, saying he was at the station and it was noisy, promising to call her later from a quiet place, but she never received another call from him.
The mother said, “From their friends’ circle posted on the night of June 25, it seems they were in northern Myanmar. The phone was turned off on the 26th, which made me panic, and I reported it to the police.”
She mentioned that her son had kept everything secret from the family, not responding to messages on WeChat or answering calls. It was only after the police investigation following her report that they learned about her son meeting the “big brother” online.
In recent days, there have been a series of incidents where Chinese teenagers were tricked into going to Cambodia or northern Myanmar.
For instance, on July 14, Hu Zongbing, a resident of Lujiang County in Hefei city, stated that his 18-year-old son, Hu Yixiao, went missing after flying to Xishuangbanna from Nanjing on June 5, suspecting he might have been deceived into going to Myanmar.
On July 13, a woman from Shaanxi, Mrs. Yang, mentioned that her 19-year-old son, Peng Yuxuan, arrived at Kunming Changshui Airport on July 1 and went missing on July 4, with his last location showing him at the Menglian border crossing in Pu’er City, Yunnan province.
On July 12, a woman from Jining in Shandong province said that her 21-year-old son, Zhang Yuxi, went missing on July 5 after going out for a summer job. Following a police investigation, it was revealed that her son and three other students had been lured to Cambodia.
In June, two 14-year-old boys from Puning, Guangdong, were enticed with a “high-paying job” leading them to Myanmar, and their families were asked for over 200,000 yuan in ransom.
Additionally, a netizen from Hunan left a comment on a video platform saying, “On July 7, my son and three middle school classmates bought train tickets to Guangxi. Also, they met a ‘big brother’ online who deceived them into smuggling at 30,000 RMB a month to Myanmar. Fortunately, we found out early, and the police stopped them boarding the train. There are many cases of deceiving children during the summer vacation. I hope the domestic police can investigate more. It has happened three or four times in our area, indicating the very serious issue of human trafficking domestically.”
Another netizen from Guangxi commented, “A few days ago, we intercepted eight vehicles carrying middle and high school students from other provinces at the Vietnam border. It’s terrifying, and it was villagers who stopped them.”
The incidents of mainland Chinese teenagers being lured to Cambodia and Myanmar have sparked concern among netizens. Netizens have been reminding each other, “Remember, do not go to Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Dubai, remember, remember, remember! My friend in Myanmar warned me countless times, ‘You can’t even make money within the country, and you are thinking of making big money in a place poorer than here? Once you arrive, you are seen as money in someone else’s eyes.’ ‘We have so many poor people in Yunnan, why would such a good opportunity land in your lap? Everyone has gone out to work.’ ‘Schools should offer classes on anti-fraud.'”
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