On August 10th, news spread online that 24-year-old Chinese internet sensation Qi Meng went missing in Thailand, causing widespread concern. On August 11th, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand confirmed that the woman’s family had sought help from the embassy.
According to a post from Qi Meng’s friend seeking help, Qi Meng was traveling abroad for the first time. After spending a week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, she flew to Bangkok, Thailand on flight MH784 on the morning of August 2nd. She went missing after being picked up by someone at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Her family has been in tears every day, worrying themselves sick, and Qi Meng’s friends expressed hope that the kidnappers would release her safely, willing to negotiate ransom for her return.
According to reports from Red Star News, Qi Meng is a internet sensation known as “Tangcu Xiaomeng” and is a friend of the livestreamer Chen Ze. Recently, Chen Ze revealed during a livestream that a friend had met someone online and traveled from Malaysia to Bangkok to meet them. Upon arrival at Bangkok airport, she trusted a stranger who offered to “give her a ride to Chiang Mai” and got into a car, but has not been heard from since. As of now, Qi Meng has been missing for over a week, but Chen Ze did not explicitly mention whether the friend was Qi Meng.
Screenshots from Qi Meng’s circle of friends show that a dynamic update was posted around 8 o’clock on August 9th with an animation. However, the friend who provided the screenshots stated that they only realized Qi Meng was missing after seeing the news online and are not clear about her situation.
On August 11th, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand confirmed to Red Star News that Qi Meng’s family had sought help from the embassy.
Prior to this incident, news of internet sensation “Athena Liya” going missing three years ago after being invited by her best friend to travel to Manila, Philippines, had caused a stir online.
Netizens expressed various opinions, with some saying, “It’s another case of meeting someone online and getting deceived into going somewhere. Don’t easily trust strangers on the internet, they first become good friends with you, then deceive you!” Others mentioned how they used to be cautious of strangers but are now even wary of acquaintances, as the danger may be greater since many people let their guard down with so-called ‘friends’.