Man in S’pore charged for faking own kidnapping to pay off gambling debts

Man charged for faking his own kidnapping to recover gambling debts

On Tuesday (11 March), a Chinese national was charged for staging his own kidnapping in a bid to cover his gambling debts.

Liu Changjian, 33, sent threatening texts to his aunt, Madam Liu Ya Bo, demanding her to pay ransom, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Staged kidnapping through threatening text messages

On 7 and 8 March, Liu sent threatening text messages on WeChat to his aunt, who was in China. He was at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Casino when he executed his scheme.

Pretending to be his own captor, Liu sent an image of his passport to prove that he was the supposed victim.

He then sought a ransom amounting to 30,000 yuan (S$5,561) for his release. He also warned his aunt that the deadline was no later than the next afternoon.

He additionally claimed in his messages that he would be ‘locked up’ for two months if his aunt failed to pay the ransom.

Accused had more than S$20,000 in gambling debts

According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Liu’s aunt told his father about what transpired. On 9 March, Liu’s father dialled the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for assistance.

Within three hours, Central Police Division officers found Liu at Marina Bay.

Investigations found that he was a tourist in Singapore. Although his return date to China was on 6 March, he did not leave as planned.

Liu was also revealed to have gambling debts amounting to between S$20,000 and S$30,000.

For attempting to cheat, he may be fined or jailed for up to 10 years, or both. He will return to court on 25 March for a pre-trial conference.

Also read: Ex-Maybank Manager Takes S$1.4M From Work Safe For Gambling & Debts, Gets Jail

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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao and thanomphong on Canva.