Thai woman fakes kidnapping to extort money from folks to pay gambling debts

A Thai woman in the central province of Pathum Thani faked a kidnapping in order to extort 100,000 baht from her parents to repay her online gambling debts.

A Thai mother, 51 year old Noi, reported her daughter’s kidnapping at Bang Sri Mueang Police Station on April 3. She recounted that an alleged criminal sent videos of her 30 year old daughter, Kratae, to her husband, so she immediately sought help from the police.

In the video, Kratae’s arms and legs were tied and her mouth was covered. She was crying and asking her parents to help her.

Noi revealed to the police that the criminal wanted 100,000 baht in exchange for her daughter’s freedom. Noi and her husband were also threatened not to file a complaint with the police, or else Kratae would be killed.

Despite the threats, Noi chose to seek assistance from the police. Officers traced Kratae’s phone signal and located her at a hotel in Pathum Thani province. Upon raiding the room, they found Kratae alone, with no blackmailer or criminal present.

Confronted with the evidence, Kratae confessed that she faked the kidnapping incident because she wanted money from her parents. She explained that she rented the room, tied herself up, and tried to blackmail her parents for money to repay online gambling and other debts.

Kratae confessed to being addicted to online gambling, leading to losing all of her money. Despite borrowing money from four informal sources to settle her debts, she squandered the borrowed funds on new gambling ventures, resulting in further losses.

Upon discovering the fabricated crime scene, Noi disclosed to the police that Kratae had faked a kidnapping in the past but she never anticipated her daughter would do it again.

Expressing deep distress upon viewing Kratae’s videos and harbouring grave concerns for her well-being, Noi stated she would willingly pay for her daughter’s release if the kidnapping were genuine, believing any parent would empathise.

To dismantle the gambling network in which Kratae participated, police extended their investigation to the implicated website, aiming to apprehend all involved suspects and terminate the illicit operation.