Thai police rescue Chinese woman 'duped and held for £270k ransom by call centre gang'

Police rescued a Chinese woman who was allegedly duped and held for ransom by a call centre gang in Thailand.

Song Xiuhua, 42, had been working in Germany when she received a call from the suspected scammers reportedly posing as Chinese police on April 11.

They accused her of human trafficking, claiming she had opened a number in China that was used to trick people into taking shady jobs. They then told her to travel to Thailand, where they said she would receive legal assistance.

Song flew to the country on August 15. She had been staying for more than a month in a dormitory in Samut Prakan, just outside of Bangkok, before she was rescued by authorities on September 27.

Police Major General Montree Theskhan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division, said police received a request from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand to rescue Song.

He said: 'The woman's parents sought help from the Chinese Embassy to help track her down because they were concerned that she might be in danger. They claimed a call centre gang had called to threaten them and demand ransom.'

Song's mother Li Jianshe said the gangsters reached her through the WeChat app. They reportedly demanded 2.5 million yuan (around 270,000 GBP) for her daughter's release.

The suspects had also sent a video of Song saying: 'I have come to work in Thailand. This video was not forced in any way.'

Bizarrely, Song during the rescue initially denied she was being detained against her will, despite police presenting evidence of the threatening messages.

It was only after her parents arrived that she realised she was in danger.

Footage shows the emotional reunion as Song's father broke down in tears upon seeing his daughter safe. He fell to his knees thanking the police for their help.

Song said she had been working in Germany for 17 years before she received the alleged scammers' call.

To prove her innocence, she claimed was made to wire money to the gang's account 'for verification'. They had promised to return the money, but allegedly tricked her repeatedly into sending more than 184,000 GBP into various accounts in China and Europe.

She continued that she was forced to comply with their orders and travelled to Thailand for fear she would lose all of her life savings.

She said: 'I could not reveal the truth because I was threatened that I would not get my money back. They said I would also be prosecuted if I ever informed anyone about their demands.'

The gang were said to have monitored Song's whereabouts daily through Skype. They threatened to track her down if she ever failed to check in on the application.

Police said Song had stayed at eight different lodgings during her stay in Thailand.

Crime Prevention Department Officials said authorities were now hunting down the fraudsters who are believed to have fled abroad.

(1 GBP = 9.26 CNY)