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2020-01-15

Kidnapping of a crypto businessman in Thailand

Singaporean Mark Cheng was recently kidnapped in Thailand and was tortured for a ransom for $740,000 in Bitcoin (BTC), the South China Morning Post and another report on 14 January.

After transferring all available funds of $46,000, he allegedly made a brave escape as his kidnappers were preparing to murder him.

Cheng was on a business trip to Thailand with an associate of Kim Lee Yao Wei when a group of masked men caught them and put them in a nearby truck.

Cheng also engaged the Thai actor Chano Pemberger as the owner of the truck to which he was being transported. The Thai police reportedly identified this actor as a person of interest pending further investigation.

The kidnappers allegedly tortured Cheng and demanded a ransom of 1 million Singaporean dollars ($740,000) at Bitcoin (BTC). The businessman was able to provide the kidnappers with the equivalent of just over 46,000 dollars, who then apparently decided to execute him. Cheng was able to escape his alleged fate.

Thai police later identified his accomplice Kim as the perpetrator of the kidnapping and accused him of multiple crimes to which he confessed. The money seems to have been returned since then, according to some sources.

Mark Cheng began his business career in Avelife, a non-profit social and environmental organization. In 2016, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Young Leaders' Award for his work.

Since then, he has taken an interest in the world of cryptovalut, appearing in 2018 as an advisor to X Infinity, Singapore's first coin offering a design that shows no signs of life since April 2019. A meeting related to this project describes him as a partner at Gladiolus Capital and advisor to Start-Up Brunei.

Many sources, including Wanbao and The New Paper report that Cheng was prosecuted for embezzlement of funds from the investment group where he worked in 2014. He was released on bail for the reported amount of 120,000 Singapore dollars ($89,000) on January 8, arriving in Thailand the next morning.