Man jailed for cheating brother with kidnapping ruse, sparking operation involving 50 cops

SINGAPORE - He needed cash to repay his debts, so a man lied to his younger brother in a text message, claiming that he was being held hostage in Vietnam.

Singaporean Vincent Lau Boon Kiat, 29, also told Mr Lau Wei Jun, 24, that his purported kidnappers would release him only after receiving US$15,000 (S$20,400).

Mr Lau alerted the authorities on Feb 27 and an operation was launched involving 50 officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

Police here also liaised with Vietnam Interpol, only to find out later that Vincent Lau had been telling lies.

He was caught when he returned to Singapore in March and was sentenced on Wednesday (July 10) to five months' jail after pleading guilty to cheating his sibling of $1,000.

A second cheating charge involving another $500 was considered during sentencing.

The court heard that Vincent Lau went to Vietnam on Feb 24. Court documents did not state the reason for his visit.

At around 6.20am three days later, he sent a sent a text message to his brother in Singapore, claiming that "someone had taken his passport and other belongings and was demanding US$15,000 from him".

He told his brother that the "local mafia" were holding him hostage and did not think he could "leave the place safely".

Vincent Lau also sent similar messages to their mother, who told Mr Lau to transfer money to him.

Mr Lau did as he was told and transferred $1,000 to his brother's bank account at around 7.45pm that day.

He also alerted the police after he tried but failed to contact Vincent Lau.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Genevieve Pang said the Special Investigations Section of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Crisis Negotiation Unit of the SPF were activated soon after.

She added: "The SPF also liaised with Vietnam Interpol to establish the whereabouts of the accused. After the investigations had commenced, the accused continued to deceive (his family members) by sending them messages claiming that the 'local mafia' would chop off his fingers and were threatening to kill him if they did not receive the money.

"The accused continued sending these messages to the victim over a period of three days."

Through their investigations, Vietnam Interpol and the SPF found out that Vincent Lau had lied about being kidnapped.

He was arrested when he returned to Singapore on March 20. The court heard that he has made full restitution to his brother.

For cheating, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.