Singapore jails Chinese tourist for faking kidnapping to extort $4,000 from relatives

By Hoang Phong May 7, 2024 | 10:56 pm PT

People walk past the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, Oct. 28, 2021. Photo by Reuters

A court in Singapore on Monday sentenced a Chinese tourist to 10 weeks in jail for staging his own kidnapping while visiting the city-state to extort up to 30,000 yuan (US$4,000) from his relatives.

Liu Changjian, 33, who was arrested last March, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion at the court, The Straits Times reported.

He had entered Singapore on March 1 under visa-free policy and was scheduled to return to China five days later but failed to do so.

According to the indictment, he arrived at the Marina Bay Sands Casino on March 7 and 8 and gambled almost every day, resulting in his debt of S$30,000 (about US$22,000).

To pay for his debt, he came up with an idea of staging his own kidnapping to cheat his relatives in China.

His aunt previously received threatening messages via WeChat, saying her nephew had been kidnapped and asked for a ransom of up to 30,000 yuan, according to the South China Morning Post.

His family quickly contacted Singapore police to seek assistance.

Following a three-hour investigation, police officers managed to locate Liu and found him safe.