After gambling at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) on a near-daily basis within the span of a week, a tourist from China accrued S$30,000 of debts.

To repay the debt, Liu Changjian, 34, faked his own kidnapping and attempted to deceive his aunt in China into paying him a ransom of RMB30,000 (S$5,726).

Liu's plan was foiled when the Singapore police found him unharmed in the Marina Bay Area.

He was sentenced to 10 weeks' jail on Monday (May 6).

Asked for 'ransom' for his own 'kidnap'

Court documents indicated that Liu arrived in Singapore on Mar. 1.

Following which, he gambled almost everyday at the MBS casino till he lost S$30,000.

Liu needed to repay a friend that he had borrowed money from, so he messaged his aunt in China using a spare WeChat account on Mar. 7.

Pretending to be an unknown person called "Brother Tiger", Liu sent her a picture of his passport to trick her that his life was in danger.

He demanded a ransom of RMB30,000 by 12pm on the next day, Mar. 8.

As Liu's aunt did not reply to the texts, Liu sent a follow-up text at around 5:14pm the next day.

He told her that Liu Changjian would be locked up for two months if "Brother Tiger" did not receive the money.

Plan foiled

Instead of transferring him money, Liu's aunt told his father about the ransom demand.

Worried for his son's safety, Liu's father called the Singapore Police Force (SPF) from China to report the "kidnapping", a Mar. 11 police news release stated.

Within three hours of the report, officers located Liu in the vicinity of Marina Bay.

He was safe and sound.

Police seized Liu's mobile devices for investigation.

He later pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted cheating.

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Top image from Unsplash / Singapore Police Force