15-9-2023 (SINGAPORE) A man who was kidnapped as a young boy from a market in China and trafficked to Singapore has finally reunited with his parents after an agonizing 28-year separation. The emotional meeting was made possible by a dedicated volunteer group that specializes in finding missing children.
The man, now 32 years old and previously known as Kai Ye, was born in Sichuan, China, in 1991. At the tender age of three, he was abducted by human traffickers from a vegetable market in Pingchang County. They first took him to Guangdong Province and later to Singapore, where he was raised. Despite growing up in a foreign country and even getting married, he held vague memories of his family back in China.
In 2021, Kai Ye reached out to a platform called ‘Baby Come Home,’ which assists lost and missing children, in the hopes of reconnecting with his biological family. Due to various challenges, including the ongoing pandemic and Kai Ye residing abroad, the volunteer group faced delays in their search efforts. However, in January 2022, Baby Come Home posted information about Kai Ye, including his physical characteristics and the hazy details of his abduction from the market.
Kai Ye’s biological family, who had long suspected that he might be their missing son, underwent a DNA test that confirmed his identity. On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, Kai Ye returned to Sichuan with his wife, and at the airport, he was finally reunited with his parents after nearly three decades apart. The emotional reunion brought tears of joy and overwhelming happiness as his mother tightly embraced him, expressing her deep regret and feeling that she had “failed him.” Kai Ye, in turn, comforted her and reassured her of his love.
His father, too, struggled to contain his emotions upon seeing his long-lost son. Although words failed him in that moment, a glance filled with tears and a hand placed on Kai Ye’s shoulder conveyed the depth of his emotions and the overwhelming sense of relief at their reunion.
Kai Ye expressed his heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in making the reunion possible. The timing of the reunion, just before the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival dedicated to family reunions, adds a poignant touch to the story. This reunion will undoubtedly be a cherished memory for Kai Ye and his parents, who have finally found solace and closure after enduring 28 years of separation.
