JOHOR BAHRU – The Malaysian police are searching for three local men for their suspected involvement in an attempted abduction of a seven-year-old boy along Jalan Serampang, Johor.
Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat, the officer in charge of the Johor Bahru South district, said the victim is a Singapore permanent resident who is a Chinese national. The incident happened at around 4.30pm on Dec 12 not far from the city centre, he added.
“Police have arrested the main suspect in the case, who happens to be a business partner of the victim’s father.
“The 41-year-old suspect, who works as a car mechanic, is believed to be the mastermind. Along with the three other suspects, he planned to kidnap the child and demand RM300,000 (S$85,000) as ransom from the victim’s father.
“However, no ransom was paid as police successfully arrested the main suspect at around 8pm on the day of the incident,” he said in a statement on Dec 20.
Mr Raub said the main suspect was remanded for seven days before being charged with kidnapping.
“We are tracking down the three other suspects who are all locals and in their 30s,” he said.
Reports from the Singapore media said a Singaporean businessman, took his wife and two small children – a girl and a boy – to visit Johor Bahru as he was planning to invest here.
While he and his wife were viewing a shop space, their two children were playing outside. Then a car stopped, and a man got out of the front passenger seat and grabbed the boy.
As the car drove away, the girl alerted her parents.
Fearing for his son’s safety, the businessman jumped into his car and chased after the abductors. He managed to overtake the getaway car and stopped in front of it.
The businessman then punched the driver’s car window, shattering it, and saw his son in the back seat.
The abductors tried to escape by ramming into the businessman’s car. But the businessman held on to the door frame as the car moved and was dragged several metres before losing his grip and injuring himself.
The abductors then fled on foot, leaving the car behind with the boy inside. Members of the public alerted the police to the incident. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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