Starved and locked in a room under round-the-clock video surveillance, Dinabandhu Sahu spent sleepless nights wondering if he would ever again see his family back home in India after he was duped into a job scam in Cambodia.
Sahu jumped at the chance to earn $900 a month in Vietnam as a data entry operator with free meals and accommodation last June after working a string of short-lived jobs in similar fields which paid a fraction of the wage he was promised abroad.
"Even though my family members insisted I shouldn't go, I felt relieved when I got this offer," said Sahu, who hoped the new job would help him clear debts of 350,000 rupees ($4,190).