A 25-year-old Malaysian man who faked his own kidnapping to extort a ransom from his family has been sentenced to five months in prison, according to infohub.kz.
The man conspired with loan sharks and demanded 30,000 ringgit from his relatives for his 'release.' However, police quickly uncovered the deception — they found him sleeping in a budget hotel.
A Malaysian court sentenced the 25-year-old to five months in prison or a fine of 5,000 ringgit under Section 385 of the Penal Code for attempting to extort money from his own family. Previously, relatives had already paid off his debts to creditors totaling more than 45,000 ringgit, using the father's savings.
Despite the family's help, the man continued borrowing money and conspired with loan sharks to stage the kidnapping. He sent relatives a photo allegedly showing a threat to his life and demanded a ransom.
Officers from the Selayang district police station quickly uncovered the fraud: they noticed inconsistencies in the 'hostage' photo, tracked the mobile phone signal, and found the suspect sleeping in a hotel.
Michael Chong, head of public services at the Malaysian-Chinese Association, advised the father not to pay the fine but to let his son serve time in Kajang prison. Police are also searching for the loan shark syndicate involved in the scheme.