Imagine you were stuck in a different country with no job, no work permit, and no money to get back home to your family and friends who are worried sick about you.

Unfortunately, that nightmare scenario is a reality for a group of 50 South African stranded in China right now.

They’ve been duped by an ‘agency’ promising them that they’d earn money from teaching English in China, similar to the con that scammed a Capetonian recently, which you can read about here.

On Sunday, Carte Blanche covered the group’s story:

The group, who were individually hired by a dubious recruitment agency to teach English in the East, are now the subject of a criminal investigation after their passports were confiscated because they didn’t have legitimate visas.  Their parents are desperate to get them home, but not even the South African Embassy seems to be able to help.

We can’t embed their feature, but by clicking on the image below, you’ll be redirected to where you can watch the video in full:

Times LIVE reports that the embassy can’t help them due to the complex legalities of the investigation, causing their parents plenty of heartache:

Liza Bold‚ the mother of 21-year-old Lee-Ann‚ said her blood pressure was sky-high because her child was stranded in a foreign country.

Bold‚ and the parents of 49 other young hopefuls‚ are in a predicament after what seemed like a big break for their unemployed youngsters was turned into a nightmare …

In an unexpected turn of events‚ the group was subjected to a criminal investigation after the agent who recruited them got arrested. Officials probing the agent confiscated their passports …

Bold said the stranded group is battling as the university gives them a grace of R40 per day and houses them in a dormitory. This means they can only afford one meal a day and water.

As a result, Bold and the other parents have taken it upon themselves to set up a fundraising page to try and get their children home, but they’re hundreds of thousands rands shy of reaching their target.

Exercise caution out there, because the world is full of scumbags.

[sources:carteblanche&timeslive]