A second-year college student was arrested in Lipa City, Batangas after faking his own kidnapping in an attempt to obtain ransom money to pay off his online gambling debts.
The 19-year-old student sent a video of himself blindfolded and crying for help to his mother, relatives and friends to make them believe he had been kidnapped.
His mother also received a chat message demanding that the family prepare a P300,000 ransom within “two hours” in exchange for her son’s life.
The family sought assistance from the Lipa City Police Station, prompting authorities to investigate the alleged kidnapping.
Police eventually located the student at a hotel in Calamba City, Laguna.
“Malinaw na lumabas na investigation natin na walang kidnapping o serious illegal detention, kundi isang pagpapanggap lang,” Lipa Police Chief Police Lieutenant Colonel lawyer Aleli Cuyan Buaquen was quoted as saying.
“Kumbaga, kilala ito sa ‘kidnap me’ modus kung saan ‘yung biktima ay nagpapanggap na na-kidnap siya para makakuha siya ng ransom mula sa kanyang pamilya,” she added.
Police learned that the student had faked his kidnapping after accumulating P800,000 in debt from an online gambling app and losing around P500,000 through online gambling.
He was already being pursued by lenders from online lending apps.
“Nabaon ako sa utang gawa ng lending app and sobra akong natakot na hindi bayaran, kaya ‘yun ‘yung nagawa kong way para masolusyunan ‘yung problema ko,” the student told the police.
He also apologized to the police, his parents and everyone affected by his actions.
The student likewise urged his peers not to follow his example.
“Sa mga kabataan po diyan, ‘wag na ‘wag po kayo gagaya sa akin. Kumapit po ako sa patalim,” he said.
On September 3, a complaint was filed against the student for allegedly violating Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
In May, a woman in Cebu City caused traffic disruption after lying down in the middle of a highway in an apparent attempt to take her own life. It was later discovered that she had incurred P63,000 in casino debt.
Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said it had received at least 1,890 complaints against illegal gambling sites since the start of the year.
The agency described the figure as “alarming.”
