Teen allegedly kidnapped in M'sia believed to be a scam victim

A teenager studying in Singapore and allegedly kidnapped in Malaysia was believed to have been following the instructions of scammers who claimed she was being investigated for money laundering offences.

The girl, a Chinese national, received a call on Oct 12 from scammers pretending to be immigration officers from Singapore and from the police in China.

They told her she was being investigated as there were issues with her student pass here.

They claimed her details might have been leaked and used to commit crime, and she was suspected of being involved in a larger money laundering probe.

As part of supposed investigations, she was to be monitored round the clock through a video call constantly running in her room, even when she slept.

The student, who was living alone in a rented room here, fearfully complied.

On Dec 6, Deputy Superintendent of Police Kor Ching Kiat, officer-in-charge of the Singapore Police Force’s Anti-Scam Command, updated the media on the case.

He said the girl was isolated from her family and friends, with the scammers telling her to keep silent.

He said: “They induced fear and uncertainty of what was happening. This was a 15-year-old girl who was young, didn’t know the legal processes and was not allowed to talk to her family.

“They told her that if she did, she would be jailed.”

On Nov 24, they told her to travel to Malaysia to resolve supposed bail matters and assist them with investigations.

She contacted a cross-border taxi service that took her from Woodlands to Johor Bahru.

That day, she met up with Chinese national Huang Xiaonan, 22, outside a hotel room in Johor.

He was also studying in Singapore but at a different institution.

DSP Kor said the pair did not know each other.

Huang, who was also believed to have been acting on the instructions of scammers, took away her phone and gave her another one with a different line before leaving.

On Nov 25, the girl did not turn up for an exam, prompting the school to contact her friends and guardian in Singapore.

The guardian filed a missing person’s report that day and informed the girl’s father in China.

He filed police reports in Singapore and Malaysia.

The authorities from both countries worked to find the girl, and the Malaysian police found her and Huang in Kuantan, Pahang, on the evening of Nov 26.

Huang was arrested and has since been charged in Malaysia with kidnapping the girl. He has claimed trial.

DSP Kor said investigations did not uncover any monetary losses suffered by the girl or her family in the scam.

He added that government officials impersonation scams sometimes involve victims being told to travel overseas.

He said: “This is an attempt by scammers to frustrate our efforts to trace victims, and parents tend to be anxious when they can’t find or contact their children.

“In previous cases, we have seen scammers asking for ransom from these desperate parents.”

A police spokesman said that from January to October, more than $38.2 million has been lost in at least 308 cases of government officials impersonation scams involving the impersonation of officials from China.

This is an increase from the $22.1 million lost in the 231 such cases in the same period in 2023.

DSP Kor said law enforcement agencies in Singapore will not ask for sensitive information over the phone or request for the transfer of funds to individual bank accounts.

He added: “There are potential red flags and members of the public should not act immediately without validating the request from the ‘unknown’ caller.

“They should not accept the information presented by the scammer over the phone. They should validate the information with official sources.”