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SINGAPORE, Sept 16 (AFP) - A Singaporean gambler who faked his own kidnapping in Malaysia to dupe his wife into sending ransom money to cover his losses has been jailed for six months, the Sunday Times reported.

Businessman Lim Seow Kern, 37, sent a text message to his pregnant wife's mobile phone on September 5 saying he had been given an injection and was being held in an unknown part of neighboring Malaysia.

When she called back, he asked her to remit 15,000 Singapore dollars (8,500 US) to him through a Malaysian bank in Kuala Lumpur, but she reported the matter to the Singapore police, who alerted their Malaysian counterparts.

Lim, who had already been reported as a missing person by his wife before the hoax, was traced to a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur and extradited here for trial, the newspaper said.

The court was told he had lost 6,000 dollars while gambling in Genting Highlands, a Malaysian casino resort popular among Singaporeans.

Lim, a beauty parlor owner, pleaded guilty to attempted cheating of his own wife and asked the court for leniency, vowing to be a good father to his unborn child. He could have been jailed for up to three and a half years.

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