Chinese man, lured by high-paying job ad, kidnapped and becoming 'blood slave' in Cambodia

China's embassy in Cambodia has warned Chinese to beware of hefty-paying job ads after a Chinese man barely survived being kidnapped, confined and having his blood drawn by a fraud ring.

The Bethune Cambodia China First Hospital in the capital city Phnom Penh reported to the embassy on February 12 that it admitted a Chinese man, surnamed Li, in a critical condition after a large amount of his blood had been drawn by a fraudulent gang.

Li's blood was drained seven times, in quantities of 350ml each time, from June 2021, when he was abducted to Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, the country's second-largest city, to February 2022, when he escaped from the gang, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

"I was told my blood type was RhO negative, which was highly valuable there," Li told the newspaper.

The man, lured by a job advertisement seeking security guards and offering a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan (US$789), was abducted from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, and smuggled into Cambodia last June, he said.

At first, he was asked to make telephone calls to swindle Chinese people, he claimed. After he rejected the demands, he was beaten up, tortured and threatened to be resold to other gangs and harvest his organs for sale, the report said.

His body began to swell and the person who drew his blood had difficulty finding his veins. They had to draw blood from his forehead, he told the newspaper.

Li managed to escape on February 2 and made his way to Phnom Penh with the help of other local Chinese.

He said a reporter helped get him to the hospital by which time he was severely bloated and almost paralyzed.

The embassy reported the case to the local police who have started an investigation.

Li's condition has largely improved after blood transfusion.

The embassy reminded people not to be tricked into these fake ads and report to the embassy or local police as soon as they are held up.