NEWCASTLE: Primark shopper Shahkiel Akbar has found a letter hidden in a pair of Primark socks after buying the pair from a store in Newcastle’s Metrocentre, claiming to be written by a Chinese torture victim.
The call centre worker, from Fenham, Newcastle, had to get that note translated into English and found what appeared to be a desperate cry for help.
But a spokesman for Primark said the whole thing is an elaborate hoax – with several similar letters showing up across the country.
Shahkiel found the letter a couple of weeks after buying the socks. Trying to understand what the letter said, he took it to get translated to their local Chinese takeaway, to realise the restaurant owner was Korean.
Determined to discover the contents of the correspondence he found an app on his phone that allowed him to take a picture of the words and translate them into
English.
Shahkiel said, “It was an SOS from a 39-year-old man living in China. From the words I could translate you could see he was distressed.
“It seemed like he was risking a lot to try and get a message out. He said he had endured physical and psychological abuse and that he was forced to make these socks. It felt like a real burden to me.”
However a Primark spokesman has said that the retailer believes its products are being hijacked by someone trying to gain publicity, and the letter has nothing to do with its staff or suppliers.
