The recruitment agency offered me a three year contract. Only after its completion would I be able to come back to Cambodia. The agency promised to send men to work in Japan. When I asked them about the kind of work I would do there, they told me that I would work in the fishing industry.
I managed to come back to Cambodia when the agency used my passport to issue an air ticket. When I asked them about the cost of the ticket, they answered me that they cut it from my salary. I feel happy, I never expected to be back.
I worked on a fishing vessel for 30 months. I was not able to contact my family. I did not know how they were. My foot hurt for two years. I am able to walk but it still hurts. I had to work even if it hurt. I told the captain but he did not care.
[Someone died on the vessel]
He was Indian. He was sick. There was no doctor while we were on board. He worked until he died. They froze it [his body] with fish.
By filing a complaint, I would just like to ask for the amount of money that the agency promised me for my three years of work on a vessel. The amount would be between around USD 6,000 and USD 7,000. It would reach around USD 10,000 including bonus and overtime. I would like to get this money back. I don’t want to claim more.
If the recruitment agency doesn’t pay me, I want the government to put them in prison for 10 to 15 years.
Original narrative to be found here
