A survivor of a jungle camp claims Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar were buried in a town grave under the noses of Thai and Malaysian authorities.
The young man known as Buraq, whose name has been changed, told ABC TV the bodies were brought off the mountain jungles so the trafficker could avoid having them found at his camp.
The 17-year-old, who himself fled Myanmar, told the Four Corners program men were beaten and women raped if they couldn't get more money to pay the people smugglers.
The refugee was forced into helping the traffickers, burying 20 bodies himself.
"I can precisely point to the graves that I dug," he said.
Buraq showed the program where refugees were buried next to the police station in Padang Besar, the Thai border town.
It sits just 800 metres from the official border crossing into Malaysia, where those fleeing hoped to find refuge.
"It is heartbreaking to come here," he said, with his former boss, a smuggler, overlooking the graves.
Human rights researcher Matt Smith of Fortify Rights says none of the camps could have operated without the full awareness of the Thai and Malaysian authorities.
"Villagers know what's happening, the Thai authorities know what's happening."
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