The mother of a boy who disappeared in China for five days has been accused by police of faking the kidnapping to test if her husband really cared about their family.
The 11-year-old boy, with the surname Huang, was found safe at a relative's house on Tuesday (local time) after an alleged elaborate scheme was implemented by his mother to fake his kidnapping, reports the South China Morning Post.
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A police investigation into his disappearance alleges that his mother, with the last name Chen, met her son after school and asked him to wait in another car while she filed a fake report to the police.
The case became a top priority for Yueqing Police, who dedicated huge resources and manpower to searching for the child.
A 500,000 yuan (NZ$105,971) reward was offered by the family for the child's whereabouts and an online thread on his disappearance garnered more than 230 million views on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter.
But a police statement now accuses Ms Chen of providing the police with deliberately false information, with authorities saying the manhunt wasted public resources and damaged public trust.
It is believed the hoax was created by the woman to create a false alarm to see if her husband cared about her and her son.
After the boy was found, the family apparently quickly moved out of their home with money still owed in rent.
The whereabouts of the family are unknown, but Ms Chen has been detained on suspicion of "creating and deliberately spreading false information".
Newshub.
