A second-year student from Providence University who went missing at the end of last month has been found in Myanmar, and has said that she does not wish to return to Taiwan, police said yesterday.
The student, surnamed Lin (林), was en route to London on March 30 when she boarded a plane for Yangon, Myanmar, during a stopover in Thailand, police said.
Lin’s parents had initially reported her disappearance to police after she failed to arrive in London and failed to contact them, police said.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
After tracking Lin down in Myanmar, police said she told them that she had gone to meet her boyfriend, who she had met online, and that she was not being held against her will and did not wish to return to Taiwan.
Police said Lin’s boyfriend, a Taiwanese man, was suspected of being involved in fraudulent activity in Myanmar.
Lin told police she was engaged in “administrative work” in the country and had no desire to return to university, and she agreed to a request from police that she contact her family in Taiwan to explain the situation to them.
Lin was found in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Myanmar, which borders China’s Yunnan Province, police said, adding that she was working for a company registered to a Chinese national in an industrial park in the area.
“We have ruled out any involvement by human traffickers, and can confirm that Lin is there by her own volition,” police said.
After Lin’s disappearance was first reported, the organization that her boyfriend allegedly works for posted pictures and short video clips online of her with members of the organization at a karaoke bar, police said.
“She appears very shy in the video clips, but there are no signs of distress, and no signs that she is being held against her will,” police said.
Police said they created several opportunities for Lin to indicate if she was in danger or wanted to leave, but she clearly indicated each time that she wanted to stay.
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