Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

A lonely 13-year-old who was found tied up with a gag in his mouth in a truck has reportedly admitted to faking his own kidnapping in an effort to convince his migrant worker parents to come home.

The youngster, who has not been named in reports, was reportedly found in the flatbed truck in the city of Luzhou, in central China’s Sichuan Province.

Local media report he was found in the vehicle with his hands bound and a gag in his mouth, so the police were called.

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Reports state he initially told officers that he had been “sprayed with something” by a stranger at a crossroads before losing consciousness and waking up in the truck. 

Officers found that the teenager was unharmed in the alleged attack and had not been robbed.

As investigators continued interviewing the 13-year-old he reportedly told them that he had faked the whole incident to try and convince his parents to come home from their migrant jobs in another area of China.

He reportedly lives with his grandfather and grandmother and the last time he saw his parents was on 25th January (Chinese New Year). Reports state he told the cops “I missed mum and dad,” adding that he thought they would not come back if he had phoned them and asked them.

Local media report there are over 10 million children who are “left behind” when their parents migrate to cities from rural areas to look for better jobs and pay.