Indonesian police are preparing for the deportation of two South Korean nationals after the pair kidnapped a 10-year-old boy and took him for ransom, originally telling his parents that they were bringing him on holiday to Bali.
But before the deportation can go through, Indonesian police want to complete an investigation of their own, which they say is a struggle as the two perpetrators don’t speak any English, only Korean.
Baek Jongwoon, 40, was arrested at a hotel in the Sudirman area of Jakarta on Wednesday evening, while his accomplice, Sea Songwoon, 38, was apprehended at the capital city’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport that same day.
Jongwoon and Songwoon had known the parents of KH, the young boy they kidnapped, Indonesian media is reporting. The pair had even gotten permission to travel with KH, telling the child’s parents that they wanted take him on a holiday in Bali along with Jongwoon’s own three children that are close in age to KH.
“So, the perpetrator used his own children to invite KH on vacation to Bali,” said Hendy F Kurniawan, head of Jakarta Police’s violent crimes unit.
“On Oct. 24, the victim, initials KH, was flown from Korea to Bali under the pretext of being invited on vacation, Then on the 25th, one of the perpetrators, BJ, contacted the victim’s parents, asking for money,” explained Kurniawan.
After the demand, KH’s parents immediately sent KRW50 million (US$45,000), then even more money on Oct. 31, according to Kurniawan.
“On the 31st, the victim’s parents also transferred KRW100 million (US$90,000). the total that they transferred from the victim’s parents at BJ’s request was IDR1.8 billion (US$135,000),” Kurniawan said.
Not only did the parents of KH immediately send the money, but they also straight away contacted police in South Korea, who then got help from the South Korean embassy in Indonesia. From there, the embassy coordinated with Jakarta Metro Police.
Police say KH did not initially realize he had been kidnapped and that the perps had taken away his mobile phone so he was not in communication with his parents during the trip.
The South Koreans vacationed in Bali for four days and then flew to Jakarta on Oct. 28.
Police hunted them down on Nov. 1. Jongwoon was arrested with the victim and his son at an apartment in Sudirman, South Jakarta, while police tracked down Songwoon with Jongwoon’s two daughters at the airport, trying to fly back to Korea.
Jongwoon and Songwoon did not inflict any violence upon KH, police say.
It’s not clear at this time how exactly the Korean pair thought they could get away with kidnapping KH and extorting the victim’s parents for so much money, especially when the parents already knew their identities.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the sex of the victim, KH, based on local news reports. We apologize for the error.
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