The 27-year-old son had given up his job as a teacher to take a shot at becoming a singing star but didn’t make the cut. Needed the money to pay back a friend.
A hardworking 47-year-old Thai man and his wife had a rollercoaster few days last week after they first found out that their college-educated son was being held by kidnappers only to be told the next day that it was all a ruse to inveigle more money from them. On Thursday, they were at Udon Thani Police Station to explain the matter to police.
A Thai man and his wife came to the police station in Udon Thani last Thursday with a mixture of embarrassment and relief. The couple had rushed to the station from Sakhon Nahon province just two days before on Tuesday the 3rd of September to make a report to police of an abduction.
This move followed an urgent phone call from their 27-year-old son named as Mr Anucha telling his parents that he had been kidnapped. He told his distressed mother and father that he had run up debts with a loan shark in the order of ฿40,000 and the money would have to be paid to have him released.
Reported the kidnapping in Udon Thani as that is where they were told that abduction had taken place
The man and wife were named as 47-year Mr Vichian and 45-year-old Janya by Colonel Sarayut Chumsuem of the Royal Thai Police who is the director of the Mueang police station in the northern city. The family’s full name has not been released. The man and woman had reported the kidnapping at that police station as their son’s disturbing phone called had suggested that he had been kidnapped in that area.
Feared for their son as they could not put together the ฿40,000 ransom to secure his release
Mr Vichian went to the police despite being warned by his son not to do so. This was because both he and his wife did not have to funds to pay for the release of their son. Mr Vichian is involved in the rearing of pigs and has a meagre income of only ฿10,000 per month. The couple’s savings and credit had been exhausted by demands previously from their son as they helped fund his way through college.
27-year old Mr Anucha is a college graduate and former Thai language teacher at a private school
Their son had graduated as a Thai language teacher at a private school and worked for 6 months before abandoning his professional career in order to follow a band and his dream of becoming a music singer.
The music act in question was reported as the Mor Lam band and the 27-year-old Anucha had taken to following the group and even recording songs at the Mor Lam recording studio. However, the long and short of it was that he didn’t make the cut as a singing star and was left unemployed.
Went to Udon Thani police station on Thursday
On Thursday the 5th of September, Mr Vichian and his wife were back at Udon Thani police station to see Colonel Saryaut and to inform him that their son had not been kidnapped at all.
In a phone call from the young man on the 4th September, he admitted to them that he was never kidnapped but insisted he was still in need of ฿40,000. He said that he had borrowed the money from a friend while working as a teacher to pay for stationery and that it had to be repaid.
He had previously promised his parents that when he graduated from university, he would not require any further financial assistance. The mother and father had previously regularly advanced him sums of ฿5,000 to ฿10,000 to pay for his studying expenses.
Police ask media for understanding
Both mother and father were delighted to hear the news. They were simply relieved that their son was not in peril. It was in this state of mind that they travelled to the police station for a second time.
The senior police officer also seemed pleased to hear about the outcome and requested that journalists reporting on the story try to have understanding for the family, in particular, the parents who were simply content with the prospect of having their son home.
The police officer said that police would be contacting the son to follow up on their criminal investigation into the matter. The police officer suggested that the young man goes home to his parents.
Both Mr Vichian and Ms Janya are reported to be not angry with their son over the affair.
