1 of 1 Cheng Nengchuan and Lu Tsuhsien were sentenced to two years in prison Photo: Cambodian National Police Cheng Nengchuan and Lu Tsuhsien were sentenced to two years in prison Photo: Cambodian National Police
YouTuber Cheng Nengchuan was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for posting a video with images that appeared to show him and his friend Lu Tsuhsien being kidnapped.
The young men of Taiwanese origin traveled through Cambodia and were arrested and sentenced in the country.
The video included images of the two young people being detained and beaten by security forces in the city of Sihanoukville.
But the pictures were fake and they were arrested after being exposed by other influencers.
On Monday (12), Chen known online as Goodnight Chicken posted videos claiming he was kidnapped with his friend and they both needed help.
The next day, Chen's wife announced on social media that her husband had disappeared. He then posted another video in which he claimed that they were escaping from the kidnappers and said that he was injured and that was why part of his head was shaved.
But the online public began to have doubts about the story.
Influencer Liu Yu was able to determine Chen's location based on images he posted, and it was revealed that Chen appeared to have circled an area rather than fleeing as he claimed.
He also wondered why his captors allowed him to keep his live broadcast equipment.
Shortly afterwards, the two were arrested in their hotel room. They were then exhibited by authorities along with the props found in his room.
A Cambodian court said on Friday (16) that they were convicted of “inciting chaos in social security.”
The government said the men produced videos with “false content that affects the honor, order and security” of the country.
Both were sentenced to two years in prison and a total fine of around US$2,000 (R9,000).
A UN report released last year estimated that around 100,000 people in the country were forced to work in these fraudulent schemes.
Most of the victims are men from Asia, but some also came from further afield such as Africa and Latin America.