A YOUNG enterprising college student ended up in jail after trying to pull off a fake kidnapping incident to raise funds supposedly to pay off debts from an online lending app.
According to the police, the parents of the unnamed college students sought assistance after receiving a video showing their blindfolded son– claiming to have been kidnapped – crying for help.
“Mahal na mahal ko po kayo. Kung ano man po ang mangyari sa akin, tandaan ninyo po na mahal na mahal ko po kayo sobra. Tulungan niyo po ako,” said the student in a video message sent by an account allegedly belonging to the kidnappers.
The student then asked his parents to send a P300,000 ransom within two hours.
Sensing something wrong with the “tight two-hour window,” the parents asked help from the Lipa Police Station which immediately dispatched investigators.
In tracking down the supposed victim, cops traced the student’s last known companions, who admitted being with the missing student at a billiards hall before going to a mall in Batangas.
The search eventually led police to a hotel in Calamba, Laguna. Upon reaching the hotel, responding police officers initially checked on the student to ensure that he had not sustained any injuries.
But after a tedious review into the hotel’s CCTV footage, police discovered that the student had checked in alone and that no kidnapping had taken place.
“Malinaw na lumabas na investigation natin na walang kidnapping o serious illegal detention, kundi isang pagpapanggap lang,” Lipa Police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Atty. Aleli Cuyan Buaquen said.
“Kumbaga kilala ito sa ‘kidnap me’ modus kung saan ‘yung biktima ay nagpapanggap na na-kidnap siya para makakuha siya ng ransom mula sa kanyang pamilya,” she added.
During the police interrogation, the student admitted that he was forced to stage a fake kidnapping to demand ransom which according to him will be used to pay his debt to an online lending company.
“Nabaon ako sa utang gawa ng lending app and sobra akong natakot na hindi bayaran kaya ‘yun ‘yung nagawa kong way para masolusyunan ‘yung problema ko,” the student explained.
“Humihingi po ako ng patawad sa aking mga magulang na kung saan sila po ay lubos na pinag-alala,” he pleaded.
A criminal case for allegedly violating Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act will be filed against the college student.
