KALIBO, Aklan – A South Korean tour guide, who “kidnapped” himself to get money from his mother, was nabbed in Barangay Camanci Norte, Numancia, Aklan.
The 38-year-old Yoo Jin-Woon of Jinju Kyungong, South Korea staged his own “kidnap for ransom” modus, police said.
The Regional Anti-Kidnapping Task Force caught Yoo around 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 28.
“He sent pictures to his mother in Korea that he was tied and kidnapped by alleged abductors,” said Major Nestor Acebuche of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG)-Visayas.
Yoo asked $5,000 from his mother on Sept. 24 for his “freedom,” the police added.
Acebuche said they conducted a thorough investigation and found out that the Korean national was “hiding” in the province with his Filipina girlfriend, also a tour guide, whom he met in Angeles City, Pampanga. Two months ago, they decided to stay in the hometown of his girlfriend in Numancia.
The PNP-AKG was alerted of Yoo’s “kidnapping” when the South Korean Embassy asked for help on Sept. 27.
“Nobody harmed him. He confessed to us that he was only ‘joking’ to his mother in Korea, and (he) is in dire need of money,” Acebuche said.
The South Korean national admitted he made up the “kidnap” plan to sustain his needs.
Yoo was charged with unjust vexation. The court recommended a P3,000 bail bond for his temporary liberty.(With a report from Akean Forum/PN)
