SINGAPORE, May 21 — A 36-year-old man who helped his friend abduct and restrain a woman over an alleged debt was jailed for eight months today.

According to The Straits Times, Wu Zhibing, a Chinese national, admitted in court to wrongfully confining the woman for five hours inside a warehouse in Jalan Buroh near Jurong, where she was blindfolded and tied up.

His accomplice, Lin Mei, 42, a Taiwanese national, will have her case heard on July 16.

Court documents revealed that Wu owed Lin around S$25,000 (RM82,757) from gambling losses by November 2023.

The two were friends and lived together in the same home.

In February this year, Wu told Lin he planned to return to China as his work permit had expired.

Lin then asked for his help to recover S$25,000 she claimed was owed to her by a Singaporean woman, offering Wu between S$10,000 and S$20,800 in return.

Wu agreed, and the two hatched a plan to lure the woman to a warehouse, where she would be restrained and pressured to repay the money.

On February 28 at around 2am, Lin contacted the woman and asked her to meet up, claiming they would go to a golf course.

After they met, Lin asked her to drive to the warehouse instead, telling her there was money there.

Once inside the warehouse around 3.30am, Lin claimed the money was in a piece of luggage and asked the woman to help look for it.

As the woman squatted down, Wu appeared, placed a bag over her head and, together with Lin, tied her hands and legs with cable ties. They blindfolded her and sat her down on a chair.

The woman was held captive for five hours as Lin repeatedly demanded repayment.

They released her only after the woman’s friend agreed to transfer S$30,000 to Lin at 5pm that day.

The woman lodged a police report after her release, and Wu was arrested that same evening.

According to prosecutors, Wu had tried to cover the warehouse’s CCTV cameras with cloth before the incident.

In Singapore, those convicted of wrongful confinement to extort property or confessions can be jailed for up to three years and fined.