China Scene: West

Broke teenager caught kidnapping himself

Ma, an 18-year-old resident of Pingliang, Gansu province, kidnapped himself last Thursday in an attempt to extort money from his parents.

Ma's father, who runs a small restaurant, received a phone call on Thursday afternoon from a stranger using his son's mobile phone, saying that his son had been kidnapped. The caller asked for 20,000 yuan ($2,900).