Bj News reported on Thursday that Zhong’s sister, from Guangzhou, explained on social media that in early June, his former employer asked him to travel to Thailand for a photoshoot for a magazine. With his family in financial need, Zhong accepted the offer without much hesitation. On June 8, he boarded a flight from Guangzhou to Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.

According to Zhong’s sister, after arriving in Bangkok, Zhong was taken to Tak, a province in Northern Thailand, where he subsequently disappeared. On June 13, Zhong was able to contact his sister and revealed that he had been tricked into traveling to Myanmar. However, he was unable to provide her with his exact location at the time.

The Guangzhou police have confirmed they received the report from Zhong’s sister and are currently investigating the case.

Zhong’s sister shared that her brother had been modeling for over four years and had become the family’s main financial support after their father’s death. She expressed hope that widespread sharing of information would help bring her brother back home soon.

Many Weibo users have drawn comparisons between Zhong’s case and that of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was also deceived into going to Thailand and subsequently went missing. In January, Wang’s girlfriend had posted a plea for help on Weibo, which led to his rescue. Thai authorities later determined that Wang was a victim of human trafficking and had been held in Myanmar for scam training. About 50 other individuals trapped in the same building with him were also freed.

Following Wang’s case, several Chinese celebrities shared their own experiences, revealing that they had received similar offers but were fortunate enough to remain alert and avoid falling into the hands of traffickers.

A lawyer in Thailand noted that traffickers are no longer primarily targeting manual laborers, but are increasingly focusing on professionals, such as actors and engineers.