Chinese woman rescued from 15 million baht virtual kidnapping

Thai police rescued a Chinese woman in Bangkok from a virtual kidnapping after a call centre scam gang tricked her into staging a kidnap and extorting 15 million baht from her parents.

The Chinese man, Liang Luihua, hired a Thai woman, Napaphat Noppasettakarn, to file a complaint at Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station after his daughter, 21 year old Wang Jia Bao, was kidnapped in Bangkok.

According to Liang’s information, he received a phone call from the kidnapper on Monday, July 29, at about 6.50am. The kidnapper ordered him to pay 3 million yuan (about 15 million baht) for his daughter’s freedom.

Liang decided not to transfer money to the gang. He reported the kidnapping to the police in Japan, where his daughter was studying before she travelled to Thailand. Then, he filed a complaint with the police in China and asked his Thai business partner, Napaphat, to report the case to the Thai police.

Police reviewed security cameras inside the airport and found that Wang Jia Bao arrived from Japan at Suvarnabhumi Airport at about 3pm on Sunday, July 28. She then took a yellow-green taxi from the airport.

Police searched for the taxi driver and found that her destination was Soi Kasemsan 2, near MBK shopping mall and Jim Thompson Museum.

At about 6pm on the same day, Wang Jia Bao was seen exiting the museum with souvenirs, a hat and a scarf. She was in new clothes and took a tuk tuk to Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Manipulated by scammers

Further investigation led police to the accommodation where Wang Jia Bao was staying, a condominium in Soi Sukhumvit 81. Wang Jia Bao was alone at the condo and was safe. She was not kidnapped but was manipulated by the scammers.

Following questioning, Wang Jia Bao explained that the call centre scammers were Chinese nationals. They contacted her posing as Chinese police and issued a fake charge against her. They tricked her into transferring 2.5 million baht to them and ordered her to travel to Thailand if she wanted to be cleared of all the crimes.

The scammers lured her into staging a kidnapping scene of herself and recording a video of it for the gang to extort 15 million baht from her parents. Fortunately, the parents opted to seek help from the police instead of transferring money to them.

Superintendent of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station, Jakkapong Nutpadung, reported that this scam gang targeted Chinese students studying abroad. Former cases involved Chinese students from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

In a similar report, Chinese parents sought help from Sriracha Police Station in Chon Buri in April after their daughter, who was studying in Australia, was seemingly kidnapped in Thailand. The kidnapper demanded 40 million baht from the couple.

Police later found their daughter at a hotel in Bangkok and discovered that she had fallen victim to a virtual kidnapping for ransom.