Pretending to be Kidnapped, Student in Makassar Demands Ransom of Rp 90 Million from Parents

Police have arrested a university student with the initials EE (23) after he allegedly faked his own kidnapping and confinement in order to demand a ransom of Rp 90 million from his parents. The perpetrator staged the hoax to obtain money from his parents.

Kanit Jatanras of the Makassar Police Criminal Investigation Unit, AKP Sangkala, stated that the case began when the student’s parents reported the threat on Friday (7/8). Initially, the parents lost contact with the student and received a message from someone claiming to be holding their child captive.

“It started with a public complaint to the Makassar Police Jatanras unit regarding an incident where their child, a university student, lost contact with his parents,” said AKP Sangkala on Wednesday (12/8).

The perpetrator’s parents then received information that their child was said to have a debt of Rp 90 million. They were asked to pay the money immediately because their child was claimed to be held captive and threatened with death if the demand was not met.

The URC Jatanras team of the Makassar Police conducted an investigation by gathering a number of pieces of evidence. They eventually located EE at a boarding house in the Tamalanrea area of Makassar on Wednesday (12/8) morning.

“However, after further investigation, it was discovered that the person making the threats about the child being kidnapped and so forth was actually the victim himself, creating a charade with the reason of obtaining money from his parents,” Sangkala stated.