On Monday, Liu Changjian, 33, was handed one charge of attempted cheating. Pleading not guilty, he appeared in court via video-link while on remand.

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Liu will return to court on March 25 for a pre-trial conference.

In a statement to the media, the police said they received a call for help on March 9 at about 6:50am that Liu was allegedly kidnapped.

Liu, a tourist, was purportedly supposed to return to China on March 6 but did not do so. His aunt also received messages on WeChat from an unknown person claiming Liu was kidnapped, and that she needed to pay the ransom for the release of her nephew.

“In the text messages, the unknown person forwarded the photo of the man’s travel document as proof,” said the police.

The aunt then informed Liu’s father, who called the Singapore Police Force from China for help.

“Within three hours of [receiving] the police report, officers managed to locate the man in the vicinity of Marina Bay,” said the police, adding Liu was found safe.

The police said further investigations revealed Liu had gambling debts between S$20,000 and S$30,000.

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To recoup his debts, he allegedly pretended to be an unknown person and allegedly sent threatening messages to his aunt in hopes to get the ransom money.

“The Police take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, whether knowingly or unwittingly,” said the police. “Anyone found to be involved in such scams will be subjected to police investigations and may be prosecuted.”

Those found guilty of attempting to cheat others can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined or both.