Eleven day ordeal ends for kidnap victim (malaymail)

AFTER 11 days of being held captive and fearing for her life, a 52-year-old wife of a businessman was released thanks to a special police unit.

Perak CPO Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said the woman was kidnapped in front of her Taiping house on Dec 26.

The special outfit which was set up and assigned to the task, managed to trace her whereabouts to KM76 Jalan Sitiawan-Taiping, in Trong, Taiping.

Mohd Shukri said as soon as the team arrived at the scene which served as a point of sale for tapped rubber, a scuffle broke out between the four suspects and the police.

A shootout took place when police tried to free the victim from the captivity of the suspects, aged between 30 and 40.

"Two of the suspects were fatally wounded, while the other two managed to escape," Mohd Shukri said.

"It is was a great success for us – saving the victim before she sustained any serious injuries," he said, adding that among the goods seized were a Walther 22 gun, a magazine with a live bullet inside, a toy gun, two pairs of handcuffs, a ski mask, fabric gloves, women's socks, some junk food packets and bottled drinks.

According to Mohd Shukri, at 4am today, one of the remaining two suspects, aged 33 was arrested in Kamunting, Taiping and there is a manhunt for the last suspect who is still at large.

"The suspect has been remanded for seven days to assist police investigations," he said.

Mohd Shukri said the traumatised victim was taken to Hospital Taiping immediately after she was rescued.

He said police have yet to interview the victim since she is still traumatised by the ordeal.

Mohd Shukri said the woman was outside her house with her four-year-old nephew when she was nabbed.

He said after the incident, the victim's family received calls demanding for a ransom of RM30 million, following which some negotiatons took place between the suspects and the family. The police were also in the loop of the negotiations.

Mohd Shukri said, police have yet to confirm if any ransom was paid and to ascertain if the suspects have any previous criminal records to their name.

"Judging from how they committed the crime, we believe the suspects are experienced criminals," Mohd Shukri added
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