Tricked by the cry of children

Recently there have been many cases of fake kidnapping done to demand ransom from the parents of victims. This is how it is done.

A man or woman will telephone the house of the supposed victim in the kidnapping (How they got the number is best known to the crook only). He will tell the father or mother that he has their child and will release him only upon payment of a ransom. The amount is then quoted, followed by a tape recording of a child crying and asking the father or mother to save him. Usually, the parents will be too panicked to discern the voice, thinking that it must be their child's and so pay the money only to find that their child is still in school unharmed. The police cannot put the 'kidnapper' in prison as there is no case of real abduction.

There was one case told by my friend, Yong from Raub. The man demanded RM20 000 and the mother bargained it down to RM5000 but she still did not have enough money and went to borrow money from a friend. The friend told her to check whether her daughter was in school as the school was very near her house. Hence she went to the school and found her daughter safe and sound. Of course, she did not pay any sum of money to the crook.

I hope parents who read this blog will be cautious and not be hoodwinked by the crook who is out to make fast money.