Kidnapping hoax unmasked: Mum’s fake abduction tale sends public into a spin
Police confirmed the safety of a seven year old Thai girl after her mother faked her abduction on social media, causing panic and confusion among the public.
The Thai mother, whose identity remains undisclosed, took to Facebook to claim that her seven year old daughter, named Omyim, was missing. The mother stated that the girl disappeared near an international school in the Sukhumvit 31 neighbourhood of Bangkok, four hours before she shared the post.
The woman included pictures of her daughter in the post and urged netizens to help search for the missing girl. She also claimed to have received a threatening message from an unidentified man. The messages, written in English, read…
“I know you love your child very much. Your child is cute. I have seen your child in stories. I know where your child studies. If you don’t come to me in the room to help me pack my stuff, move away from the police to avoid being slandered. When you love your child more than me, tomorrow I will make your child disappear from your life forever.”
The woman stated that she and her daughter had been threatened for a long time by the mysterious person. She blocked the account, but the person continued to create new accounts to threaten her.
Many netizens shared her post in an effort to help find the girl, and some asked her for more details about the situation to identify the person who had been consistently threatening her and her child.
Real threat but fake abduction
Unexpectedly, the post was later deleted, sparking panic within the online community. Some people attempted to contact the woman via the phone numbers provided in the post but were unsuccessful.
Concerned for the safety of both the woman and her daughter, members of the public reported the matter to the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Bureau (IDMB). Officers rushed to the woman’s condominium yesterday evening.
The woman was found in the room but initially refused to open the door for the police. Officers spent some time persuading her until she eventually allowed them inside. Omyim was found sleeping and unharmed, showing no signs of injury or distress.
The woman was taken to Thonglor Police Station for questioning regarding her motives for fabricating the abduction story. She insisted that she was threatened from the unidentified man for over a year, and the person also threatened to abduct her daughter.
She claimed that she faked the abduction in an attempt to pressure the unidentified person into revealing himself.
The woman added that she had no other stress except from this issue. She had no financial difficulties, as she earned between 70,000 and 80,000 baht per month from her online shop.
It is unclear whether the police will launch a further investigation into the threats and the unidentified suspect.
