The family of Lawrence Honour, 19, who lives in Thailand, have issued an urgent appeal for help after he went missing at the end of September. They fear he is being forced to work in a factory
Fears have grown for a missing British teenager after he vanished from a hotel in Thailand, with his family afraid he’s been tricked into working at a scam Chinese mafia factory with no way to leave.
Computer genius Lawrence Honour, 19, was last spotted leaving his accomodation in the town of Kanchanabur on September 26. It has been reported that he tried to enter neighbouring Myanmar but was turned away by border guards because the crossing was closed due to conflict.
Police and his family are concerned that he is being held captive inside one of the call centre factories, which are controlled by Chinese gangs. The cruel set-up sees workers endure strenuous hours whilst being tortured.
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His family have issued a heartbreaking appeal as they ramp up the search to bring him back home. They fear that he has been lured into the factories as part of a scam. Lawrence lives in Thailand with his mother and British father, Julian Honour.
His mother, Gulnara, shared details of his disappearance. She said: “Lawrence left home on September 26 and we were unable to contact him. I filed a report at Pattaya City Police Station. I checked my son’s email and found records of his movements in Kanchanaburi province, which was very worrying.
“He’s a very shy and quiet boy but he is excellent with computers. I’m afraid that he has spoken to people online and be tricked into going to one of these scam centres in Myanmar, where they don’t let people leave.”
Officials reportedly caught him attempting to climb a fence into the country and sent him back, reports The Sun. According to locals, they saw him hitchhiking that evening before someone stopped and picked him up. Authorities launched a desperate search in response.
Police Colonel Santi Phitaksakul, superintendent of Sangkhlaburi district station, commented: “The boy’s mother said she still has hope. She doesn’t know how he came here. The last time she was able to contact him, he was already in Sangkhlaburi.
“Someone later saw him at Sai Yok Waterfall, where he was hitchhiking and said he was heading toward the border. A Thai driver who passed by wanted to help, so he gave him a ride. We now believe he may have crossed into Myanmar.
“Immigration officers at the border reported that he came to the checkpoint and tried to leave, but they didn’t allow him to exit because the border was closed. They arranged for him to be put on a van to return home, but it turned out he never got on because police later checked with the van company and confirmed he didn’t buy a ticket.
“Witnesses said he waited around for a while, and when someone asked what he was doing, he said he was waiting for a friend. But he couldn’t cross, as officers had refused him.
“At this stage, police have asked the military to coordinate with Myanmar to help locate him. Informants have reported sightings of someone resembling him in Myanmar, and we are waiting for confirmation. As for why he went there, there are many possibilities.
“He may have been persuaded by someone; it doesn’t seem like he went just for tourism. We need to trace his movements to verify whether he went to a casino or elsewhere. It is suspected he may have crossed through natural routes, possibly with the help of people on the Myanmar side who know the paths well.”