The 41-year-old man, who was nabbed on Sunday morning, will be charged in court on Tuesday.

If convicted, he can be jailed for over three years.

The latest arrest brings to five the suspects involved in kidnap scams, police said in a statement on Monday.

Giving details of the latest scam, police said a 45-year-old woman, who wants to be known only as Madam Yeo, received a call at her office at about 2 pm on Jan 31.

She heard someone claiming to be her son asking her for help, after which another man, believed to be a Chinese national, took over the phone and told her that her son had been kidnapped and demanded $30,000 in ransom.

When she said she only had $2,000, the 'kidnapper' told her to withdraw the money and send it to China through a remittance company at Chin Swee Road immediately.

The man also forbade her from hanging up and told her to lie to the remittance staff that she was sending the money to a known acquaintance.

At the remittance centre, the staff asked if she was aware of cheating scams which have been publicised in the media.

Mdm Yeo was convinced that the voice she had heard over the phone was that of her son's, she asked the staff to go ahead with the remittance.

Still worried about her son's safety, she then asked her colleague to try to contact her son. Her colleague then sought police's help.

Police acted swiftly and located her son at his school and verified that he was safe. They also managed to stop the remittance transaction in time.

Phone scams, of which kidnap scams are a variant, were a major crime concern last year.

In the first month of 2008 alone, another four members of public have fallen victim to kidnap scamsters. They were cheated of $40,000 in total. Some members of public who received such calls were luckier.

Commander of Central Police Division, Superintendent Lau Peet Meng reminds the public to remain calm when they receive such calls.

They are asked to questions the kidnapper to verify the identity of the purported kidnapped victim, for instance, the number of family members staying together or whether there are pets in the house.

This will help them to establish if the call is indeed genuine, said Supt Lau, adding: 'Police have worked with various stakeholders, such as the banks and remittance centres, and our crime prevention ambassadors, to help the public. But, most importantly, we need the public to continue to be aware and vigilant.'