After accumulating a massive gambling debt in Singapore, a Chinese tourist staged his own kidnapping to extort money from his relatives.
In an effort to recoup his gambling debts, a tourist from China who's visiting Singapore allegedly tried to stage his own kidnapping in the country to force his relatives into paying the ransom worth RMB30,000 (approx. S$5,500 / US$4,200).
The seemingly clever plan backfired when his relatives contacted instead the Singapore authorities and did not accede to the requested ransom money.
His aunt received messages from an unknown individual on the messaging app WeChat, claiming that Liu was kidnapped and that she must pay the ransom in exchange for her nephew's freedom.
The aunt then notified Liu's father, who was in China that time. The father called the Singapore Police Force for assistance.
The police stated to news media that on March 9 at 6:50 a.m., they received a call for help in which Liu was allegedly kidnapped. Liu was supposed to return to China on March 6 but didn't do so.
Police said, "In the text messages, the unknown person forwarded the photo of the man's travel document as proof. Within three hours of (receiving) the police report, officers managed to locate the man in the vicinity of Marina Bay."
Liu was actually found safe.
Upon further investigation, police revealed that Liu racked up gambling debts worth between S$20,000 and S$30,000 (approx. US$15,000 and US$22,500).
To recoup his debts, he allegedly pretended to be an anonymous person and sent threatening messages to his aunt, hoping to get the ransom money.
Police said, "The police take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, whether knowingly or unwittingly. Anyone found to be involved in such scams will be subjected to police investigations and may be prosecuted."
On Monday, March 11, Liu Changjian, age 33, was charged with attempted cheating. He appeared in court via video-link while on remand, but pleaded not guilty.
He will return to court on March 25 for a pre-trial conference.
For trying to cheat others, Liu can be put behind bars for up to 10 years or fined, or both.
Source:
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3254922/singapore-charges-chinese-tourist-who-staged-own-kidnapping-cheat-relatives-recoup-gambling-debts
