Man charged for allegedly staging own kidnapping in Singapore to cheat aunt of S$5,600 to clear gambling debts
Chinese national supposedly sent threatening text messages to aunt in China, but was caught by police at Marina Bay area
SINGAPORE — A 33-year-old man allegedly faked his own kidnapping in order to cheat his aunt into paying a bogus ransom that was to be used to recoup his gambling debts in Singapore.
Liu Changjian, a Chinese national, was charged in court on Monday (11 March) for attempting to cheat Liu Ya Bo into paying 30,000 yuan (S$5,630) as ransom for his release. He had gambling debts between S$20,000 and S$30,000.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a media release that he pretended to be his abductor, and sent threatening messages to his aunt last week.
How did he allegedly execute the plan
Court documents said that Liu allegedly put his plan in action when he was at the Marina Bay Sands Casino last Thursday and Friday (7 and 8 March). Preliminary investigations uncovered that he arrived in Singapore on 1 March, and was supposed to return to China last Wednesday, but failed to do so.
His aunt, who was in China, had received text messages from an unknown person through WeChat, a Chinese instant messaging app. The unknown person sought a ransom of 30,000 yuan for Liu’s release, and forwarded a photo of Liu’s travel document as proof.
Liu's aunt then alerted his father, who was also in China, of the matter. He then called the SPF for help last Saturday evening.
Police said it received a call for assistance last Saturday (9 March) at about 6.51pm. After extensive searches and investigations, officers from the Central Police Division found Liu in the Marina Bay area within three hours. He did not receive the ransom from his aunt, and his mobile devices were seized.
Liu pleaded not guilty, and will next appear in court for a pre-trial conference on 25 March. If convicted of attempted cheating, Liu could face a jail term up to 10 years and/or fined.
Take precaution when receiving unsolicited calls
The SPF advised members of the public to take precautions when receiving unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties with “+” prefix phone numbers that originate from abroad.
The precautions also include ignoring such calls and the caller’s instructions, not transferring any funds if the caller is of dubious identity, and calling a trusted friend or relative before acting.
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