Former Chinese soldier shares daring escape from Myanmar scam centre

A former Chinese soldier claims to have escaped from a scam centre in Myanmar by masking his own scent from tracking dogs using cow dung as he made his way across the border.

He recalled the story on social media after he had safely returned to China.

According to the South China Morning Post, Yang Lei, a tour guide in his 30s, was first captured in mid-March after leading a group of 10 on a hike near the Thai-Myanmar border.

Man says local guide got his group captured

On 6 March, Mr Yang hired a local guide to assist with the trip.

However, the guide, lacking a legal residence permit, led the group astray to avoid border control.

They ended up in the hands of individuals linked to a local scam centre, where they were captured and sold into forced labour.

Each of the 11 individuals was reportedly sold to the scam centre for 20,000 USDT (S$25,400), a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar.