Young, broke South Korean arrested in Thailand after faking own kidnapping
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Thai police questioning the South Korean man who claimed he had been abducted and assaulted before escaping.
PHOTO: THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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BANGKOK – A 24-year-old South Korean who had overstayed his visa by more than a year was arrested after allegedly staging his own kidnapping in Thailand’s Chonburi province to convince relatives to send him money so that he could return home, Thai police said on Wednesday.
The man, identified only by the name Kim, faces deportation for overstaying by 497 days and could face other charges for faking his own kidnapping, police said.
The young man’s relatives asked the South Korean Embassy in Thailand for help after Kim allegedly told his family that he had been abducted, imprisoned and assaulted before escaping, police said.
He had told family members in South Korea he was on his way to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok but had no money, police said.
After being tipped off about a possible kidnapping, police visited Mr Kim’s home in the eastern province’s Bang Lamung district.
When they arrived, Mr Kim fled through the backyard and tried to hide from them behind shrubs in a field.
Officers detained him and took him to the local police station for questioning.
He admitted to a South Korean translator that he had not been abducted, imprisoned or harmed in any way.
His only problem was that his family had declined repeated pleas to send him money.
As a result, he told them he had been abducted, hoping this would convince them to send him money to return home.
However, his family contacted the embassy instead.
Police are continuing to investigate the case, and the process for deporting Kim has been launched, police said. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
