ISKANDAR PUTERI: The suspected mastermind and a family member of the victim were among 13 people arrested for allegedly kidnapping a businessman.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the 59-year-old victim had lodged a police report on Oct 13 stating that he had been kidnapped from his house in Johor Baru.
He said the state police, together with Bukit Aman, then set up a special task force to investigate the matter.
A special operation launched on Tuesday night led to the arrest of the 13 suspects, aged between 23 and 58, in Johor, added Comm Kumar.
“Three of them were women. One of the women and two of the men are foreigners.
“We believe that one of them was the mastermind,” he said, adding that four of the suspects have criminal records.
Asked about the relationship between one of the suspects and the victim, Comm Kumar declined to elaborate.
He also said mobile phones and an ATM card were seized from the suspects in the operation.
He did not offer further details, adding that the case is being investigated under the Kidnapping Act 1961, and urged the public not to speculate about the incident.
Comm Kumar said 10 of the suspects were being remanded until Oct 29 while three others were remanded until today.
According to a report by China Press, the kidnapping led to a businessman’s family paying a RM20mil ransom for his safe return.
The developer was preparing for a business trip when he was ambushed at around 5am outside his home, right before his scheduled departure to Senai Airport.
Three masked men confronted him, with one hitting him with a stick, another covering his head, and a third man holding him at gunpoint and restraining his hands before forcing him into a car.
A mobile phone was left outside the victim’s house by the kidnappers, which was later used to demand a RM30mil ransom from his family.
Following negotiations, the ransom was reduced to RM20mil.
The report added that the family managed to gather RM5mil, which they deposited at a residential area in Taman Perling, while the remaining amount was wired through an acquaintance in Singapore.
Fourteen hours after the initial kidnapping, the developer was released. The victim reported to the police that he was held by four kidnappers, including a woman, and added that their nationalities were unknown.
