Nearly 60 workers claiming they were cheated out of $4,000 each by the Cambodia-Japan Care Skills Training Center – a private company – yesterday submitted petitions to the ministries of interior and labour asking them to launch investigations into their case.

Mom Moa, representing 58 trainees, said the workers come from eight provinces, including Kandal, Takeo, Pursat and Prey Veng.

He said the workers paid $4,000 to the centre in question in 2015 and received training but have been waiting ever since to be placed in a job in Japan as promised.

“All of them were trained already,” he said. “Some trained for three months or six months [to learn] the Japanese language, but until now, they haven’t gone to Japan.”

Och Sam Nang, 34, from Kampot, said they were told by the centre that they had to pay $8,000 if they wanted to work in Japan, but were given the option to only pay 50 percent of the costs before going to Japan.

The trainees claim they were lured with promises of Japan-based jobs with monthly salaries of up to $2,000, in addition to bonuses.

“[It’s been] more than one year, and we still haven’t gotten a job,” he said. “We are very hopeless. Now, we don’t want to get a job. We just want to get our $4,000 back.”

La Sophin, deputy director of the Cambodia-Japan Care Skills Training Center, which has a recruitment branch in Takeo, said he had received the information regarding the complaints and would be discussing potential solutions with his boss.

Ministry officials said they would examine the case.