On the campaign trail, Lee has pledged to bring to justice anyone involved in Yoon’s failed bid and has also promised to introduce tighter controls on the president’s ability to declare martial law.
Khobby said many of the workers in his “office” had already had experience with scamming in other compounds and in other countries.“Most of them had experience. They knew the job already,” he said.
“This job is going on in a lot of places – Thailand, Laos, Myanmar. They were OK because they got paid. They had experience and they knew what they were doing,” he added.‘What are we here for? Money!’High-school graduate Jojo said she was working as a maid in Kampala, Uganda, when she received a message on the Telegram messaging app about an opportunity in Asia that involved being sponsored to do computer studies as part of a job in IT.
“I was so excited,” Jojo recounted, “I told my mum about the offer.”Jojo told how she was sent an airline ticket, and described how multiple people met her along the way as she journeyed from Kampala to Laos. Eventually Jojo arrived in the same scam operation as Khobby.
She described an atmosphere similar to a fast-paced sales centre, with Chinese bosses shouting encouragement when a victim had been ‘butchered’ and their money stolen, telling how she witnessed people scammed for as much as $200,000.
“They would shout a lot, in Chinese – ‘What are we here for? Money!’”Many mourners, some of whom travelled long distances to attend the funeral, recalled moments when they had met or spoken with Fonseka.
“She was a role model for us. We saw her as an example when we went to the cinema,” said 56-year-old jam factory worker Pushpa Hemalatha. “She wasn’t arrogant. We loved her when we were young.”Fonseka’s final acting performance was in the 2024 music video Eya Wasanathaya Nowe, playing an elderly woman remembering her deceased husband.
Ivanka Peiris, an actress and musician who acted with her in the TV drama Hithuwakkara, told Al Jazeera that Fonseka was “very empowering” as a role model for women, and “everything” for younger actresses in the industry.And, she said, Fonseka would never be replaced.