Quick-Witted Ayi Saves Boy From Potential Kidnappers in Chongwenmen

A probable child abduction attempt was thwarted in Chongwenmen last week, thanks to the quick thinking of a woman employed as an ayi by the child's family.

The story was shared with our sister publication beijingkids by the boy's father, a prominent member of Beijing’s international community. He says that he has shared his story in the hope of warning other families about the dangers of child abduction and to prevent any future incidents. Names have been withheld for safety reasons.

“There’s a communal area just outside the shopping mall nearby where we live and all the kids play there in the evening,” the father told us. The man's son was approached by a young man who had was holding a cheap toy, and succeeded in engaged the boy in conversation.

“The ayi saw this and didn’t take that much notice, because my son is quite a sociable guy. Then she noticed there was about half a dozen people moving around and getting closer [to my son]: six young guys, and a middle-aged guy and middle-aged woman."

According to the father, the young man then began to use his phone, possibly to call a car in order to pick up the boy. At this point, the ayi, suspecting that the group of people may be planning to abduct the boy, quickly brought him inside to safety. 

While a tragedy may have been avoided this time, the family are taking measures to try and find the would-be kidnappers. “We’re [currently talking to] the police and the mall security because the area has cameras,” the father said. He suggested parents should be particularly vigilant while their children play in public spaces and to review family safety and 'stranger danger' policies with their ayi. 

The ayi in question has since been rewarded for her vigilance. “Yes, she just had a hongbao!” the child's father reported.

Tragically, child abductions are a common occurrence in China, where victims are kidnapped by a third party gang, and then either raised by the person who hired the abductor, sold to another family, or put to work on the streets by gangs as beggars. 

Child kidnapping may be seen as an extreme response to childlessness in a society where children are seen as a financial safety net in old age. However, this is the first report of an attempt at kidnapping targeted at the international community that beijingkids is aware of since 2011, when there was concern about predatory attacks on teenage girls. We continue to caution against circulating reports of kidnapped children on WeChat when the source cannot be verified.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site beijingkids.

Photo: avontuura.com