After being reportedly kidnapped for a ransom of 25 million baht, a 27-year-old Chinese woman was discovered safe at a shopping mall in Bang Na district on Saturday evening.
Media sources confirmed that Lu Xinlei was located at HomePro Bangna and subsequently taken to Phra Khanong police station, where she was reunited with her mother and elder sister, who had traveled from China upon learning of the alleged abduction.
According to reports, the woman from China was employed by a real estate firm in Japan and fell prey to a call scam group posing as Japanese authorities, falsely accusing her of violating anti-money laundering regulations.
Under duress, she was coerced into transferring 17 million yen for apparent inspection, relocating to either Thailand or Singapore, and refraining from contacting her parents in Shanghai.
Upon her arrival in Thailand the previous Wednesday, she was instructed to change her SIM card regularly and move between different hotels.
On the following Friday, a call was made to her parents in China demanding a ransom of 5 million yuan (equivalent to approximately 25 million baht) for her release. Suspecting foul play, her parents sought help from the police through a Chinese-language interpreter.
Law enforcement officials suspect that both Ms. Lu and her parents were victims of a call scam operation, manipulating them via chat applications without any actual abduction taking place.
