Chinese student rescued in Malaysia after kidnapping
Video images of the 18-year-old Chinese student in Singapore, who was kidnapped after crossing into Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on April 30.
An 18-year-old Chinese man studying in Singapore was kidnapped after crossing into Johor Bahru, the capital of Malaysia's Johor State, on April 30.
The student's parents, who run a business in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, received videos via the Chinese messaging app QQ on May 2, showing their son being beaten and suffocated. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 3.5 million yuan (US$620,000), threatening to kill the victim if they didn't pay.
According to Malaysian media China Press, the 18-year-old hailed from Foshan in south China's Guangdong Province and was currently enrolled at the Singapore Institute of Management.
Rather than comply, the parents flew to Malaysia and reported the incident to local authorities. The Malaysian police arrested one suspect within 48 hours and safely rescued the student.
The student's parents received videos showing their son being beaten and suffocated.
What shocked investigators was the discovery of an elaborate scheme orchestrated remotely by a mysterious figure known only as "W."
Claiming to be a Chinese police officer, W manipulated the 23-year-old suspect into carrying out the kidnapping. W allegedly convinced the suspect that he was participating in the filming of an anti-fraud awareness campaign.
W instructed the suspect via mobile phone to buy red paint to fake blood, and to purchase two large iron shovels, allegedly for digging a grave to bury the victim alive.
The suspect stole the victim's phone, recorded violent footage, and smashed the device to destroy evidence. Police later recovered it at a local plantation.
The victim's mother, surnamed Cheng, told China Press that the kidnappers first contacted her through her son's QQ account, sending the video and following up with threats and ransom instructions. Call records show the suspect contacted her four times and gave her a Chinese bank account number, demanding an immediate transfer.
Malaysian authorities say the investigation is ongoing and they are working to arrest the remaining suspects. Police are also trying to track down the mastermind behind the plot, who may have used similar tactics in other cases.
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