Inside the “Shwe Padauk Myaing” scam hub: torture and human trafficking uncovered in Myawaddy

Mizzima Special Correspondent Han Htoo Zaw (Mizzima)

A Chinese survivor who recently escaped the Yulong Bay (also known as Shwe Padauk Myaing) online scam compound near Thae Pone village, Myawaddy Township, has exposed a brutal system of daily torture, extortion, and forced labour involving over 5,000 trafficked foreigners.

The facility is reportedly owned by Colonel Saw Htoo Eh Moo, commander of the Karen National Army (KNA) 777 Tactical Command and son of KNA leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu, according to a Chinese national who escaped from the compound.

In October 2025, when the crackdown occurred on the KK Park scam compound near Ingynn Myaing village in Myawaddy Township, the “Hton Shin Group” from Shwe Jin Site-5 (A5) within KK Park relocated to Yulong Bay near Thae Pone village.

As the Myanmar junta continued conducting raids of scam buildings in the Shwe Kokko area, gang members from those facilities fled. They subsequently secretly continuing their online scam operations in the staff housing area of Yulong Bay, specifically on the third floor of row 2 in the 19-unit building row.

“There is daily torture. They punch, slap, force people to kneel on the ground, and beat them until they vomit. Those who say they want to go home are beaten nearly to death. They are kept in dark rooms, detained in the local army (KNA) cells, and threatened,” a Chinese survivor told Mizzima.

Scam workers from the Hton Shin Group merged with Yulong Bay after the collapse of KK Park. It is reported that one Chinese national suffered severe eye injuries requiring 15 stitches and permanent disfigurement after being beaten by Chinese mafia members.