GEORGE TOWN: Fourteen people, including two foreign nationals, have been detained in connection with the abduction of an Indonesian woman here.
Penang police chief Datuk Comm Khaw Kok Chin said the suspects, two of them women, were arrested during a special operation dubbed Ops Scorpion Rantai following a report lodged at the Bandar Kinrara police station by the victim's husband on Sept 15.
"He claimed that his wife was kidnapped on Sept 7 while she was vacationing in George Town with three friends," he told a press conference at state police headquarters here on Friday (Sept 22).
Comm Khaw said the husband also told police that the suspects demanded RM540,000 for his wife's release.
He said the special operation was conducted by the state and Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department to rescue the victim and trace the suspects involved in the incident.
On Sept 17, police rescued the 36-year-old victim and another person, a foreign man, at a house in Shah Alam.
According to Comm Khaw, the 14 suspects were arrested in several locations in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Perak between 6am and 10.30pm the same day.
The case is being investigated under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961.