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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson in Taipei, and Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok

A kidnapped Chinese actor, a scam gang, and a very public rescue operation

Chinese actor Wang Xing (R) with Thai police officers in Mae Sot district, on the Thai-Myanmar border.
Chinese actor Wang Xing (R) with Thai police officers in Mae Sot district, on the Thai-Myanmar border. Wang was kidnapped and taken to Myanmar where he was forced to undergo training to work at a scam centre. Photograph: AP

Wang Xing thought he was travelling to a casting call with film producers in Thailand.

The 22-year-old Chinese actor, also known by his stage name Xing Xing, had been communicating on WeChat with people he believed were Chinese employees of a major Thai entertainment firm, according to Thai police. One of them greeted him at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and led him through security, before telling him that the plan – to stay at a nearby hotel – had changed. Instead they drove 500km to Mae Sot in western Thailand.

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