Man allegedly 'hypnotised' by woman carrying child at Genting Highlands, snapped out of it when family intervened

A family on vacation in Genting Highlands was allegedly approached by a couple with a child suspected to be part of a "hypnotist gang".

Details about the encounter were shared on Xiaohongshu on Dec. 1.

The person who posted about it, Fandy Kan, alleged that her father appeared to follow a woman's instructions without question, as he was apparently briefly "hypnotised" by the scent of jasmine.

According to Baidu Baike, an online encyclopedia owned by Baidu, the Chinese search engine, the "hypnotist gang" is a criminal syndicate that uses drugs to commit robbery and fraud.

They often employ substances such as food, drinks, or gas sprays laced with ecstasy to carry out their crimes.

Woman carrying child approached man

On Nov. 30, after a concert, Kan's family headed to the food court in the First World Hotel lobby at the highland resort.

They decided to get dinner at a sushi restaurant, near a youtiao (fried dough) shop.

While they were there, Kan's father, who was standing about 1m behind them, was suddenly approached by a woman holding a child, who was around two or three years old.

The woman, who apparently spoke Mandarin with a native speaker's accent, leaned in close to Kan’s father and asked, "Can you buy a youtiao for my child to eat?"

According to Kan, the woman pressed herself and the child against her father and repeated the request three times.

"We didn't buy any food, so my husband and I kept an eye on my dad," Kan said.

To her shock, Kan's father, who had always avoided shopping at Genting due to the high prices, responded with a smile, "Oh oh oh oh oh! Buy youtiao!"

Feeling something was wrong, Kan quickly placed her hand on her father’s shoulder and pulled him away.

The woman continued to repeat her request, until a tall man, seemingly an accomplice, appeared.

Accomplice appeared halfway through encounter

Seeing that their plan had been thwarted, he sneered and remarked sarcastically in a Chinese accent, "Wow, you're holding on so tightly. Do you really need to hold so tight?"

As the man passed by Kan, he apparently turned his head and glared at her.

Kan, however, avoided making eye contact, fearing she might fall under some sort of influence as well.

After ensuring her father was calm and collected, she took a moment to reflect on the incident with him.

Her father recalled that the woman had a faint scent of jasmine, and he felt as though he had "automatically" agreed to her request without thinking.

It was only when Kan firmly patted her father's shoulder that he snapped out of his trance-like state and regained his senses.

User issued warning to other guests

Kan noted that those approached may not be wary of the woman, as she was holding a child.

In such situations, passers-by are also unlikely to suspect anything, because they would assume she was part of the victim's family, the user added.

Kan also advised others to stay cautious of strangers and avoid letting them get too close.

In response to a commenter who shared a photo she found on Facebook of the trio approaching guests at the resort, Kan confirmed that the couple in the photo were the same people she had encountered.

Resorts World Genting responded that it would be looking into the incident.

Top images from Xiaohongshu