Seven Chinese nationals who have been stranded at Malaysia’s Johor Airport after being cheated in a job scam, were flown back to Guangzhou Sunday evening, and 18 others are scheduled to return on Monday with the help of the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

The 25 farmers from China are illiterate and were easily conned by bogus agents going to villages in China offering them jobs in constructions sites in Johor Baru with lucrative pay, according to Singapore’s Strait Times, quoting a person close to the case.

It is reported that the farmers paid up to 60,000 yuan (8,710 US dollars) to the bogus agent. The victims are from different provinces of China such as Jilin, Henan and Sichuan, and were brought to Johor in batches on April 10 by the agent, who later left them at the construction site.

After realizing there were no such job was offered at the site, the farmers went back to the airport and survived with little money.

The Chinese embassy sent representatives to the airport and dealt with their accommodation and meals, and later arranged for their flight tickets back.

The embassy further expressed the Chinese government’s concerns over the issue as well as the rights of its citizens going overseas to look for jobs, and said will take action against the unscrupulous parties involved.