Almost Kidnapped, Held Hostage! M’sians Share Their Real-Life Scary Experiences Overseas

When we travel, we think about the happy stuff – shopping, the perfect Instagram picture, maybe even finding a storybook prince(ss) charming. And other than souvenirs, what we bring back are the the stories. Not Instagram stories, but actual stories you can tell new friends or old ones who’ll pretend to be hearing it again for the first time.

But the thing about stories is that not all of them are good ones. We spoke to some people who shared embarrassing or even terrifying stories about their travels overseas that would come straight out of a Liam Neeson thriller.

1. In the UK, an intruder left a bloody handprint on Adeline’s door

Adeline was in her first year of University in the UK, which was also her first time living abroad away from family. After some months went by, and with exams were just around the corner, Adeline went back to her dorm room late one evening evening completely exhausted.

As Adeline was falling into a deep sleep, she heard a scraping sound coming outside of her ground-floor window. Curious, she peeked out her window, and her eyes went wide.

To her horror, she saw someone scraping the glass door with a knife. She  froze in shock, as she watched the tip of the knife sliding down the slippery glass. After what felt like hours, the guy just stopped and walked off into the night. Other students who witnessed the incident called campus security, but the guy was nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a one-time incident. And the second time, things got a lot worse.

Two nights after that incident, Adeline was working on an assignment when she heard the now-familiar scraping sounds. She peeked out her window again but, to her surprise, it was a different person. After furiously scraping at the door, he suddenly stabbed himself, collapsing on the ground in front and leaving a single bloody handprint on the door.

Adeline wasn’t the only one watching the gruesome scene, and one of the students called an ambulance and transported him to the nearby hospital. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive.

The incident was reported in a Daily News article. Apparently, the guy was also a student at the university, and a part-time model. Police investigators also found a note behind his room door which reads:

“Police, if you figure me out I swear you will save the world. I can’t take this anymore, I’m going to explode. Shhh.” – quoted from the Daily News

Adeline couldn’t process what she felt those two nights, so all she could say was:

“Oh well, that’s part of the study abroad experience.” – Adeline, to CILISOS

 

2. In Italy, a kidnapper attacked Siti in a busy public area

Siti and her friend J were in Venice for the first time, fully intending on enjoying the sights of the city and (of course) taking Instagram-worthy pictures at every corner.

As the day ended, the night brought a different life to the town square of Piazza San Marco. Lights from the surrounding buildings lit the square below, as music from street performers filled the air. It was a mesmerizing sight for tourists like Siti and J.

As Siti was enjoying the street performance, she felt a hand suddenly covering her mouth and another grabbing her body from behind. When she realized what was happening, she struggled and tried to get J’s attention but he was too focused on the performers to notice. With her screams muffled by the hand over her mouth, she was dragged further and further away from the unsuspecting crowd.

As she was being dragged away, her instincts kicked in. Siti elbowed the kidnapper hard in the stomach, catching a glimpse of the green hoodie he was wearing. As he lost his grip, she bolted towards J and, gripping into J’s arm, she asked him, “Did you know I wasn’t beside you?” he replied, “No”.

By this point, the green hoodie was nowhere to be seen.

According to a Chicago Tribune article, kidnapping rings are pretty rampant in Italy; to the point where kidnapping for profit has been recognized as a “specialty” in some parts of the country.

3. In the UK, Charlie was hugged by friends… who thought he died

It was Charlie’s second month in the UK for university and, like any university student enjoyed the night life as much as he did the student life. One morning, he woke up with little memories of the night before, and the realization that he was late for class. He noticed dozens of messages and missed calls on his phone, but figured he would sort those out after he got to class.

As he exited his dorm, he was met by a bunch of his friends who immediately started hugging him very tightly. Charlie’s first reaction was:

“Err… Are you guys ok?”

So apparently, Charlie and his friends were having a party at the campus pub (wah UK got pub on campus) but, as it was nearing to closing time, his friend G suggested having an afterparty at his place. Charlie was exhausted and – according to him – a responsible student with classes the next day, so he declined and walked back to his dorm alone.

During the afterparty, his friends heard the wails of police sirens and the flashes of blue and red coming from the direction that Charlie was walking in. According to some other people closer to the scene, someone had just died in an accident.

Their initial concern turned to worry when Charlie didn’t answer their calls or texts. Some of the girls started crying, and G went to talk to the police officers. As it turned out, it wasn’t too hard to figure out that it wasn’t Charlie at all:

“Do you know how we knew it wasn’t you that died last night? He wasn’t Asian” – G, according to Charlie

 

4. In China, UiHua was held hostage at a café

UiHua and Bob were going to Shanghai to visit a friend, since it came with a free stay at a swanky hotel. On the flight there, Bob laid out common tourist scams in China, one of which was the Fruit Platter Scam. Essentially, a hot local girl takes a tourist to a café or club where they’ll be served a fruit platter (which the tourist assumes is complimentary) that can cost upwards of RMB2,000 (RM1,000 at the time). 

They were in Nanjing Road, a popular tourist street, when two very average-looking girls asked them for directions, explaining that they were visiting from another province in China. As the conversation continued, one of the girls suggested grabbing a drink and pointed towards a random café.

Noticing they were the only patrons in the café, UiHua and Bob’s scam senses started tingling and they had a brief conversation in BM, which went something like:

UH: “Eh, kita akan kena buah-buahan ke?”

B: “Tak pasti lah. Kalau buah-buahan keluar, kita jangan sentuh dan cepat cabut”

UH: “Baik”

Sure enough, after their drinks arrived, a beautiful ornate fruit platter was placed on their table. But before they could leave, the girls quickly each grabbed a fruit and ate it. Because the fruit had been eaten, it was included in the bill which came up to about RMB4,000 (RM2,000 at the time).

UiHua and Bob convinced the manager they didn’t have enough cash or credit cards, so an arrangement was reached – Bob would get the cash from the hotel room while UiHua stayed behind as collateral.

While it was a very awkward time for UiHua, he legitimately started to worry for his safety when he noticed a girl suddenly walking into one of the rooms, followed by the manager. Through the closed doors, he heard shouting followed by a SLAP and a THUD, and loud crying. He didn’t know if it was real or a show to scare him further into paying.

And right after that, the manager came out and told him that he could leave. Wait, what? UiHua wasn’t sure if he was going to be beaten up outside the café but, to his relief, saw Bob and a few policemen approaching the café as he walked out. They were lectured by the cops about fruit platter scams. Apparently, it isn’t always using hot girls.

To this day Bob still insists that UiHua was the one who said yes to the drink, but UiHua continues to argue otherwise.

Wah so scary! but don’t let these stories turn you off from travelling…

The outside world can be scary, but preparation could save your life

Like it or not, there’s always the chance you’ll meet some shady characters during your travels abroad. Fortunately, these so-called ‘precautionary tales’ are few and far between, and should be seen as the exception to the rule. With that being said, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take necessary precautions when heading out into the world. It always help to do your research on potential danger spots, having emergency contacts on standby, and practicing constant vigilance while out and about.

All in all, don’t forget to have fun, but, as with all things, be prepared for the unexpected. And watch out for strange men in green hoodies.