New Delhi: Influencer Sachin Awasthi says detained for 38 hours in South Korea, China: ‘Blackmailed, no explanation’
Popular YouTuber Sachin Awasthi has claimed that he was detained and denied entry in Jeju Island, South Korea and was kept for long hours in detention centre and forced to book an expensive return ticket back to India.
He said he faced the same ordeal during transit through China, where he was made to wait, kept under supervision and put under communication restriction.
In an Instagram post, Awasthi said he landed on Jeju Island, South Korea, with a group of friends and was “excited and ready” for the trip. But, he claimed, everything changed within a few hours and he was was treated like a “criminal”.
“Detained for 38 hours in South Korea (Jeju Island) & China. We landed in Jeju Island, South Korea, excited and ready for our trip. Within a few hours, everything changed. We were denied entry and taken to a holding area. No proper explanation, just told to wait. And we waited,” Awasthi wrote in the caption, along with photos of the alleged detention.
The influencer further claimed to have been kept in a detention centre “similar to a jail with no sunlight”. He also said that he was “blackmailed” into booking “a really expensive return ticket”.
“Hours passed without clarity. They kept us in their detention centre (it was similar to a jail with no sunlight & no access to the outside) and also gave us jail food. Nobody told us what was going to happen for hours. They blackmailed us into booking a really expensive return ticket,” he added.
Influencer Sachin Awasthi further claimed in his Instagram post that he had a similar experience in China as well.
“Later, during transit through China, it continued. More waiting. More supervision. Communication was restricted. No use of phone, and no food and limited water. Sleeping conditions were worst. By the time we were told we would be sent back, we were mentally drained. The return ticket cost almost 10× the normal price. At that moment, we didn’t have the energy to argue. We just wanted to get out safely,” he wrote.
Awasthi clarified that he wasn’t sharing the account for “sympathy or drama”. But, he said, they did not have “any right to treat us like CRIMINALS.”
“Travel looks glamorous online. But sometimes, things change in a few hours and test you emotionally in ways you never expect,” he wrote.
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