A beautician pleaded guilty on Friday to deceiving two women into forced labour and confinement at a scam factory in Myanmar by falsely promising them lucrative compensation for transporting a large sum of money to Thailand.

Poon Sum-yi, 33, admitted to one count of fraud at the District Court for luring the victims—identified as Peng Xinying, who was unemployed, and part-time model Liu Bingbing—into travelling to Thailand under false pretenses in December 2024. Poon convinced the women to accompany her on a trip by offering to cover their flight and accommodation expenses, initially suggesting destinations like Japan or Canada. The promise involved a reward tied to transporting 48 million baht (approximately HK$11.3 million) to Thailand.

On the night of December 27, 2024, Poon informed the two women she had purchased tickets departing for Bangkok at 9 p.m., with a planned return the following evening. Shortly before departure, Poon met Peng in Mong Kok and deleted all text message exchanges between them from Peng’s phone. Upon arrival in Bangkok around 11 p.m., the women boarded a vehicle they believed would take them to their hotel but instead were driven to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand the next morning. Poon did not accompany them, stating she would take a later flight.

The situation escalated near the Thai-Myanmar border, where the women’s belongings were confiscated by men armed with knives and sticks before being escorted across a river. There they were met by six armed men in military uniform who forced them into a different vehicle and informed them they had been “sold” to a Chinese-operated scam syndicate in Myanmar for US$54,000.

At the scam factory, a Chinese man known as “rabbit chief” told the women they could only secure their release by paying a ransom of US$500,000 or by assisting the syndicate in defrauding wealthy overseas Chinese of similar amounts. The following month, the man indicated the victims were being sought on social media and offered release for US$28,000 each, with the option to negotiate a lower payment by agreeing to remain longer in captivity.

The victims later managed to contact their families, who collectively paid more than HK$585,000 to secure their freedom. Peng and Liu were released on January 8, 2025, and returned to Hong Kong three days later.

Poon was arrested on January 13, 2025, and has remained in custody without bail since her charge. She exercised her right to remain silent under police caution.

Sentencing has been postponed until September 29 pending the Court of Appeal’s decision on a related case. Under Hong Kong law, fraud carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, though sentencing in District Court cases is capped at seven years.