19-year-old Female College Student from Guangdong Sold to Telefraud Compound in Myanmar, Family Pays 30,000 USDT Ransom but She Remains in Captivity

**Headline: Chinese Freshman Abducted in Thailand, Sold to Myanmar Fraud Center; Release Negotiations Ongoing** A 19-year-old Chinese college freshman was abducted in Thailand earlier this month, trafficked to a telecom fraud compound on the Myanmar border, and remains in captivity amid ransom talks, her family and authorities confirmed Tuesday (April 23). The student, identified only by her pseudonym Xiaoyang, is a freshman at a university in Guangdong province. She traveled to Thailand on April 10 at a friend’s invitation to celebrate the Songkran Festival. Upon landing in Bangkok, she was immediately detained and sold to a fraud center in Sop Moei Ta, a Thailand-Myanmar border area. On April 13, her family was contacted by a man claiming to be a “kind-hearted brother.” He said he had paid 29,000 USDT (cryptocurrency) to buy Xiaoyang from traffickers and demanded a 30,000 USDT ransom (equivalent to over 200,000 Chinese yuan) for her release. After the family transferred the ransom, the man delayed release with excuses including “Songkran roadblocks” and a “compound lockdown.” As of Tuesday—after Chinese media exposed the case—Xiaoyang’s father said the man had “tentatively agreed to release her” but provided no specific location. Handover negotiations are ongoing. Local law enforcement has launched an investigation: The Baiyun Sub-bureau of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau opened an illegal detention case on April 15. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Education has also joined the response.