Five Chinese nationals, including an 18-year-old woman, were sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday after they were arrested last Tuesday for kidnapping Wu Shi Long, 25, at Lucky Star II Hotel in Phnom Penh’s Phsar Doeum Kor commune in Tuol Kork district.

The suspects, each between 18 and 20 years old, were staying at the same hotel as Wu, another Chinese national, when they allegedly carried out the crime.

Cambodia News Express reported that Wu had approached the suspects to help him obtain a new passport from the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh after he had lost his. Instead, the five allegedly stole $3,000 from him before kidnapping him and attempting to extort his family for ransom.

Media outlet Swift News reported on Monday that the suspects were hiding out at Golden House guesthouse in Boeung Keng Kang district’s Tuol Svay Prey II commune after kidnapping Wu on September 24.

There, the suspects allegedly beat Wu and took photographs to send to his brother in China for ransom. Wu ultimately escaped on October 6 and sought help from Chinese and Cambodian officials.

Tuol Kork district police chief Sok Heng said on Monday that the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh cooperated with local police in Tuol Kork and Boeung Keng Kang districts to apprehend the suspects after Wu secretly contacted the Embassy.

“I don’t know how much the suspects stole from the victim. Expert police may know it,” he said.

Municipal Court spokesman Kuch Kimlong said: “The suspects are being questioned by the prosecutor. It’s still ongoing and [it] will continue until tomorrow [Tuesday], Heng said.