Singapore charges Chinese tourist who staged own kidnapping to cheat relatives, recoup gambling debts

Liu Changjian, 33, a Chinese national, allegedly staged his own kidnapping while in Singapore to cheat his relatives of roughly US$4,200

To recoup his debts, he allegedly pretended to be an unknown person and allegedly sent threatening messages to his aunt in hopes to get the ransom money

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A Chinese tourist has been charged with trying to stage his own kidnapping while travelling in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:45pm, 11 Mar 2024

Trying to recoup his gambling debts, a Chinese national visiting Singapore allegedly decided that he could stage his own kidnapping in the Republic to scare his relatives into paying around S$5,550 (US$4,200) as ransom.

But instead of doing so, his relatives contacted Singapore’s authorities and did not accede to the ransom request.

On Monday, Liu Changjian, 33, was handed one charge of attempted cheating. Pleading not guilty, he appeared in court via video-link while on remand.

Liu will return to court on March 25 for a pre-trial conference.

In a statement to the media, the police said they received a call for help on March 9 at about 6:50am that Liu was allegedly kidnapped.

Liu, a tourist, was purportedly supposed to return to China on March 6 but did not do so. His aunt also received messages on WeChat from an unknown person claiming Liu was kidnapped, and that she needed to pay the ransom for the release of her nephew.

“In the text messages, the unknown person forwarded the photo of the man’s travel document as proof,” said the police.

Te main entrance of the State Courts in Singapore. Photo: AP