Hometown folk rescue destitute job scam victim
Raymond Hilary Upum’s dream of earning better pay in Singapore to provide for his family and repair his grandfather’s house in Dalat was shattered when he was left in the lurch by an agent, who had promised him a better life.
The 44-year-old Melanau told The Borneo Post upon arriving back here yesterday that after landing in the city-state ‘years ago’, he was handed over to another agent who kept his passport and other documents.
He then ended up living on the streets when the latter agent abandoned him without securing him the promised job.
“I can’t recall (what year) I arrived in Singapore. Before that, I worked as a welder in Sungai Antu Industrial Estate.
“I learned about the job offer from an advertisement in a newspaper. It promised a lucrative salary and I decided to try my luck,” a wearylooking Raymond said, adding he then travelled to Kuching en route to Singapore.
Upon being abandoned, he said he had no place to stay and wound up living on the streets in Woodlands while doing odd-jobs such as coffee shop assistant, labourer and many more.
“But I did not get paid and that was when I decided to go to Johor Bahru,” he said.
The soft-spoken Raymond also said he was unable to contact his family in Dalat as he was forced to sell mobile phone to buy food in Singapore.
While attempting to cross into Johor Bahru, he was detained by the authority and later charged in a Singapore court for not having travel documents.
He was unable to pay for the fine and was deported from the island.
“I remember arriving in Johor Bahru in January 2012 and since then, I had been living on the streets.
“I would sell any items that I could find such as (discarded) power banks, mobile phones, watches and so on for money to buy food. Sometimes, members of the public took pity on me and gave me money to buy food.”
He added there were many times when he had no choice but to rummage for discarded food in rubbish bins to fill his stomach.
His plight was highlighted by a member of the public on social media, and subsequently came to the attention of Dalat native Nor Hazimah Abdullah @ Mala Ajei, who resides in Johor Bahru.
Nor Azimah quickly worked on locating Raymond and found him on Monday (Aug 5). She then alerted her friend Suhaili Tahir, another Dalat native living in Johor Bahru, who brought Raymond to have his Mykad and other documents made.
With the documents ready, Nor Azimah got in touch with Rosmah Abdullah, 56, who is from Dalat but lives here, to help fetch Raymond from Sibu Airport, which she did together with her friend Dahlia Mawi, 59.
According to Rosmah, several good Samaritans had chipped in to help Raymond upon learning of his plight, adding that his flight ticket from Johor Bahru to Sibu was paid for by another Dalat native who is currently working overseas.
Raymond, who touched down here at 11.25am, expressed relief and happiness at being able to return to Sarawak after so many years.
“I have learned my lesson, and will not fall such lucrative job offers again,” he said.
Rosmah and Dahlia, meanwhile, brought Raymond to a coffee shop upon his arrival where he polished off a bowl of laksa before departing to Dalat via speedboat.