-fhd.jpg)
A mother from Shanxi, China, posted online seeking help, stating that her 15-year-old son boarded a plane for Nanning, Guangxi on August 8th this year, but went missing at the Guangxi border the next day. 20 days later, her son’s social media account was located in Cambodia, leading the family to believe he had been trafficked there. On November 3rd of this year, someone from the suspected scam zone used the son’s social media account to message the family, demanding a ransom of 200,000 RMB or that the family bring three more people over, threatening otherwise to sell their son to Myanmar.
According to multiple mainland Chinese media reports, the victim’s father revealed that the child, Wang Yukai, was normally raised by his grandparents. After dropping out of school at the beginning of this year, his parents originally wanted to bring him to live with them.
Wang Yukai suddenly said he wanted to go to his mother’s hometown in Yunnan to learn auto repair, but fearing Yunnan’s proximity to northern Myanmar, his parents were worried about scams and did not agree. Unexpectedly, on August 8th, Wang Yukai suddenly said he was already in Guangzhou, even sending his location and photos of car repairs. At first, the father was not suspicious, but around 10 pm that evening, realized Wang Yukai’s phone was off and he was unreachable.
The father stated that he reported it to the police the next day, and on the 11th went to the local police station in Guangxi for help. Police investigations revealed that on August 9th, Wang Yukai had already reached the Guangxi border, changing vehicles three times, with the final ride in a black sedan.
On August 27th, the father suddenly noticed that his son’s social media account location had switched from Guangxi to Cambodia. “I suspected he had been trafficked into a park in Cambodia.” The mother also recorded a video pleading for help from netizens, hoping someone could help find her son.
The father added that Wang Yukai’s Douyin account suddenly responded on November 3rd, but the person was not Wang Yukai himself—likely an employee in the park—who said if they wanted Wang Yukai to return home, the family must trick three more people into coming. The father said he could not do this.
The park worker also said, “We’re short on people, not on money. If you can’t send anyone, prepare to pay 200,000 RMB (about 840,000 New Taiwan Dollars), and once you’re ready, you can talk to your son,” otherwise they would sell Wang Yukai to Myanmar.
The father explained that his elderly relatives had just had surgery and couldn’t raise the money, so the other party said if they were truly short on cash, they could sell people, at 50,000 RMB per person.
After the story broke, many netizens were shocked, commenting, “If it were me, I’d rather not have my child back than trade 3 for 1—why let three more families be shattered?” “And they’re still encouraging travel to Cambodia—why is this not being addressed?” “This news is heartbreaking. Hope Wang Yukai returns safely, and the family stays strong for good news.”