Found Safe Australia - Oliver Yang, 12, Mudgearaba in Queensland, 11 May 2018

[SouthAussie]

And here is the answer to my question about others besides the alleged perp.

Police are investigating whether other people were involved in the kidnapping.
“We’re going to make sure that anyone else who may have been involved is held to account,” Insp Hogan said.
http://www.news.com.au/national/que...n/news-story/9551241d4180e966b448593352e15486

 

[gregjrichards]

It is understood police will allege the kidnapping was part of a chilling plot to settle a gambling debt believed to be about 20 million Chinese yuan ($4 million) racked up by the boy’s father.

http://www.news.com.au/national/que...n/news-story/9551241d4180e966b448593352e15486

I honestly expected this to be about gambling debts from the beginning but didn’t post it out of respect for Oliver’s family.

 

[Morrisa]

And here is the answer to my question about others besides the alleged perp.

Police are investigating whether other people were involved in the kidnapping.
“We’re going to make sure that anyone else who may have been involved is held to account,” Insp Hogan said.
http://www.news.com.au/national/que...n/news-story/9551241d4180e966b448593352e15486

There would have to be others. That is an insane amount of debt!!

 

[JLZ]

Wow! Must have been a tad annoying to the abductor that the family were living in a nice area, in a nice new (according to the article) home, paying private school fees, and goodness knows what else. All while this massive debt was outstanding.

Would it be fair to assume that the alleged debt was not legally recoverable?

 

[SouthAussie]

Would it be fair to assume that the alleged debt was not legally recoverable?

Yes, I would say that the kidnapper(s) wanted the boy's dad to cash in all of his chips, so to speak, and pay them what he could.

The dad is very lucky that even more drastic actions were not taken. That an example was not made out of him.

 

[JLZ]

Yes, I would say that the kidnapper(s) wanted the boy's dad to cash in all of his chips, so to speak, and pay them what he could.

The dad is very lucky that even more drastic actions were not taken. That an example was not made out of him.

Yes, lucky he didn't breach etiquette at Crown Casino.

Though not trivial for the child of course.

 

[Elainera]

There is currently a press conference with terrible audio. Sounds like they have said it was a "kidnap for ransom".

https://livestream.com/queenslandpolice/events/8184952

That's had been my thought from the beginning.

 

[Elainera]

Sounds as if only one person has been arrested. I wonder what happened to the other person in the car. I notice that some publications have now deleted this info. Either the witness was mistaken, or someone else is being protected ... like perhaps a person who was made to go along but didn't want to, perhaps a person who later assisted the police.

rs and bbm

Wasn't it reported yesterday (right after Oliver was found) that a 53 y/o man is assisting with the investigation?

Tied to a headrest in a parked car - poor boy! Hopefully he didn't have to wait long until he was able to draw attention to himself. I wonder why the abductors left him like that? Why not just let him go?

 

[JLZ]

rs and bbm

Wasn't it reported yesterday (right after Oliver was found) that a 53 y/o man is assisting with the investigation?

Tied to a headrest in a parked car - poor boy! Hopefully he didn't have to wait long until he was able to draw attention to himself. I wonder why the abductors left him like that? Why not just let him go?

He wasn't abandoned. He and his abductor were in the car when the police found them.

He said they managed to track the vehicle using traffic cameras.

"NSW Police put up a number of staging points along the highway, and just through a matter of trial and error we narrowed it down to a certain area," he said.

"A member of the public recognised the vehicle, called it into police, and the boy was located in the vehicle with the male person." http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-...d-in-northern-nsw/9754724?WT.ac=statenews_qld

Also, "Detective Inspector Hogan said police were also investigating the possibility of other people being involved." (BBM) It's sounding like the 53-year-old man now in custody was the single abductor.

 

[Morrisa]

[FONT=&quot]Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said the alleged abductor demanded to "get their money back" and claimed the request was related to gambling.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]However, Inspector Hogan said the family of the alleged victim denied a gambling link and police were still looking into this aspect of the investigation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Police will allege other extortion threats had been made towards the boy's family during the months before the kidnapping.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/que...p-gambling-motive-probed-20180513-p4zf0s.html
[/FONT]

 

[SouthAussie]

I guess police may work out more about this story if they can figure out who this other person is. Though if it is a gambling debt - and if illegalities are involved - I doubt too much info will be forthcoming.


The major incident room at Burleigh Heads Police Station was still running on Sunday, with detectives investigating whether more people were involved in the kidnapping. Inspector Hogan said it was "likely at least one other person was involved".
https://www.smh.com.au/national/que...p-gambling-motive-probed-20180513-p4zf0s.html

 

[they'll get you]

I honestly expected this to be about gambling debts from the beginning but didn’t post it out of respect for Oliver’s family.

Me too Greg my thought immediately went towards unpaid loans or drug money/connections. That’s what they do.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Morrisa]

latest...

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...r-extradition-from-grafton?ocid=Social-9NewsS

 

[SouthAussie]

latest...

https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...r-extradition-from-grafton?ocid=Social-9NewsS

Wow ... looks like the penalty for taking Oliver, under Qld law, is only 7 years maximum! What a joke of a sentence. Like so many other jokes of sentences that we have.
Let's hope that penalties for the other charges against Zhang can be tacked on and make a suitable consequence for taking young Oliver.

https://pottslawyers.com.au/crimina...s/abduction-of-child-under-16-child-stealing/


And Zhang was 'just' the driver - and was known to Oliver/his family - they are still looking for the man who actually snatched him.

While the boy did not recognise the man who grabbed him, it's alleged he identified Zhang, who is known to the family, as the driver of the vehicle.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...r-extradition-from-grafton?ocid=Social-9NewsS

 

[JLZ]

And Zhang was 'just' the driver - and was known to Oliver/his family - they are still looking for the man who actually snatched him.

(snipped)

Thank you. Initially I read that (the paragraph you quoted) as meaning that the boy did not know the person who snatched him although he was known to the rest of his family, but afterwards the boy identified Zhang (eg from a lineup) as that person. It's now clear there were two people involved.

Police . . . appealed to the Chinese community on Tuesday afternoon to find the second man involved in the abduction.

 

[Morrisa]

Second suspect urged to hand himself in.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-21/police-release-images-of-second-gold-coast-kidnapper/9783748