KUALA LUMPUR: The kidnapping ring that saw two suspects killed in a firefight with the police recently had at least four victims.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Comm Datuk M. Kumar said that aside from the two foreigners saved after the Aug 7 operation, two more victims were detected prior in Kuala Lumpur in July.
“In that incident, one of the victims had escaped on her own and filed a police report. There had been no reports lodged prior to her escape.
“Based on her report, we managed to rescue the fourth victim. Both were kept in the same location,” he said.
On the rescued victims in Alor Setar, he said that investigations showed that the Singaporean victim aged 72 and the 33-year-old woman, a Chinese national, had been approached online for job opportunities here.
"Initial police investigations found that the two victims did not know each other and had no prior acquaintance with the suspects.
"The male victim was reported to have left his home on July 26 to travel to Penang and subsequently could not be contacted. However, he sent a voice message via WhatsApp to his family on Aug 4, informing them that he had been held captive and would only be released upon payment of SG$1mil (RM3,195,938) in ransom.
"Meanwhile, the female victim claimed she was kidnapped by a group of unidentified individuals on Aug 5, before being held at the same location as the first victim. Before the incident, the victim had become acquainted with a foreign woman through WeChat, who invited her to Penang to meet a man,” he said.
Kidnappers then demanded a total of USDt20,000 (valued around RM82,000 under the cryptocurrency Tether) in ransom and threatened to send the victim to Myanmar, prompting her to contact family members in China to borrow money.
"The group allegedly used a modus operandi of targeting victims through dating applications and social media platforms such as Telegram, WeChat and Badoo. "They would establish contact with potential victims before inviting them to meet, or offering holidays, employment opportunities or social activities.
"Once they met the suspects in person, the victims would be abducted and detained before being ordered to disclose their banking information.
"The victims were also instructed to contact family members and friends to request or borrow money as ransom for their release,” he said adding that both had signs of torture including wounds “from a sharp object”.
He added that the ransom money was negotiable as they “wanted quick cash” and that the money would be banked into the victim’s account, which was taken over by the kidnappers.
“We have identified one transaction where some ransom money had been taken out from one of the victim’s bank accounts,” he said.
He also said that the police were working with their international counterparts to identify other criminal records linked to the arrested foreign suspects.
"The Criminal Investigation Department remains committed to combating criminal activities to ensure that Malaysia remains a safe country to live in and visit for people from both within and outside the country,” he said.
On Friday (Aug 7), two men believed to be foreign nationals were killed in a shootout with police during an operation to rescue two kidnapping victims at a house in Taman Amira, Telaga Bata, Alor Setar, at about 8.40pm.
Following the firefight, six individuals including a 34-year-old local, were arrested to assist in investigations into the kidnapping.
