Chinese woman rescued after scam incident

A Chinese woman who lost contact from her family after being duped into transferring over 8 million baht into a call centre scam gang has been found safe in Samut Prakan. 
Police from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) found Song Xiuhua, 42, in an apartment room in tambon Ratcha Thewa of Bang Phli district, Pol Maj Gen Montree Theskhan, CSD commander, said on Friday.
The search was carried out, following a request for assistance from the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. The embassy alerted the CSD due to concerns from her family that she may be in danger.
Earlier, scammers had contacted Ms Song’s mother, Li Jianshe, via WeChat messaging application, claiming that her daughter was detained and forced to work in Thailand. They demanded a ransom of 2.5 million yuan, or about 11.5 million baht, for her release.
The gang then sent a video to Ms Li, showing her daughter holding a passport and saying, “I am working in Thailand. I am not forced to be videotaped.” This prompted her family to seek help from the embassy.
Pol Col Manoon Kaewkam, superintendent of the CSD sub-division 1, said Ms Song left Germany on Aug 15 to board a flight to Suvarnabhumi airport.
Surveillance footage showed her travelling alone from the airport in Samut Prakan where she immediately took a taxi.
Upon locating Ms Song in the apartment, officers noticed that she initially appeared suspicious. According to the apartment owner, the Chinese woman stayed alone and seldom left the room.
Ms Song told the officers that she had come to Thailand for a job of surveying closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. She insisted that she was safe and denied any knowledge of abduction.
When presented with evidence, including messages from the scammers, she seemed unconvinced, prompting the officers to contact her parents for a conversation.
During questioning, Ms Song said she received a phone from someone claiming to be a Chinese police officer on April 11, informing her that her phone number was linked to a swindling scheme. The caller insisted that she needed to transfer money for an investigation into her alleged involvement in human trafficking to prove her innocence.
When she made her first money transfer, the gang claimed she had wired the funds to the wrong bank account. They demanded that she transfer more money; otherwise, she would not receive the funds from her initial transfer. In total, she transferred over 8 million baht to bank accounts in China and other European countries.
Pol Col Manoon, who led the search operation, said the gang later deceived the Chinese victim into travelling to Thailand, claiming that someone there could provide legal assistance. Upon her arrival, the gang instructed her to install Skype communication software and keep the video call function on at all times.
They told Ms Song to stay in her room and not show her passport to anyone. They also required her to record a video that was later sent to her mother as part of their ransom demand. While in Thailand, the victim had to report to the gang daily, according to Pol Col Manoon.
Ms Song remained in Thailand from Aug 15 to Tuesday, frequently changing her accommodation – up to eight times – before she was found.
The gang threatened her, claiming she would not get her money back and would face legal repercussions if she revealed her situation to anyone.
Pol Col Manoon said her mother had not yet transferred any ransom money following the gang’s demand.