Two Taiwanese influencers were sentenced to jail in Cambodia after faking an abduction in the country and live-streaming a staged escape.

31-year-old Chen Neng-chuan, who goes by the handle "Goodnight Chicken", and 34-year-old Lu Tsu-hsien, who is known as "Anow", were each sentenced to two years' jail and a fine of four million Cambodian riel (approximately S$1,325) for inciting social unrest, The Cambodian China Times reported.

Chen is well known for his paranormal videos, with 129,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 405,000 fans on TikTok.

Put on an act for views

On Feb. 12 night, Chen started a livestream and claimed that he had broken into a scam compound in the Cambodian city of Sihanoukville in Preah Sihanouk province.

In the livestream, Chen was supposedly being pursued by someone in military attire and was later beaten up before the livestream was cut off abruptly, ET Today reported.

Chen's tearful wife had also said that her husband had gone missing, local media reported back then.

The next day, Chen started another livestream and claimed that he had successfully escaped from the scam compound.

In the video, his head was horribly shaved, his shirt had large holes and he looked terrified as he claimed to have been robbed and beaten up.

After the livestreams were published, many netizens were skeptical about his claims and a member of the Global Anti-scam Organisation (GASO) also pointed out some discrepancies in Chen's video, ET Today reported.

In addition, Chen's family did not file a police report and the Taiwanese's foreign affairs ministry said they did not receive any request for help, according to Focus Taiwan.

Arrested by Cambodian police

Chen's livestreams prompted local authorities to launch an investigation.

The local police issued a missing person notice but later found him in an apartment, along with the props used to stage the abduction.

After Chen's livestream videos were exposed to be a hoax, a closed-circuit video clip surfaced online showing Chen alone on the street filming the second video.

Kneeled down and apologised at press conference

A press conference was also held on Feb. 15 where Preah Sihanouk Province Governor Kuoch Chamroeun provided details about the case.

According to The Cambodian China Times, the governor said that Chen and his accomplice arrived in Cambodia on Feb. 11 and they had originally planned to shoot in a hospital in Phnom Penh but the location did not turn out to be what they expected. They then decided to try shooting content at an abandoned hotel building but things did not go as planned either.

They moved to Preah Sihanouk province subsequently, visited a few abandoned buildings before buying the necessary props for the shoot on Feb. 12 night.

After completing the livestream, Chen and Lu took a car back to their accommodation to rest.

Chamroeun added that the duo intentionally portrayed Cambodia as a dangerous society.

"They wrote the script before coming to Cambodia," he was reported telling the media.

Chen and Lu got down on their knees to beg for a second chance at the press conference.

"I'm so sorry, please give me a chance," Chen told Chamroeun.

Chen also told the media that "Cambodia's Preah Sihanouk is actually a very secure and very beautiful place" and he hoped to be given a chance to promote the country to tourists and help dispel any misconceptions about it.

Lu also added that they had planned to shoot content to introduce Cambodia's scenery and people in the last few days of their stay and hoped the Cambodian government can give them a chance to do so.

Despite the duo's pleas for forgiveness, Chamroeun said that simply condemning them verbally would be insufficient.

"If we forgive them, next time there will be others who fabricate similar falsehoods that tarnish Cambodia's image further," he said.

The duo will be deported from the country after they served their sentence, Chamroeun added.

Top photos from The Cambodian China Times and Goodnight Chicken's video screenshot via Taiwan EBC News