SEREMBAN KIDNAP CASE: TEEN VICTIM HIDDEN IN LUGGAGE; ONE SUSPECT SHOT DEAD - POLICE

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Swift police investigations saw a kidnap suspect shot dead yesterday while the victim of the kidnapping case in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, on April 10 was freed the next day after a partial ransom was paid.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain revealed that the criminals cleverly hid the kidnapped teenage girl in a luggage after she was snatched.

He said the 16-year-old girl was abducted while walking alone to a convenience store in Uptown Avenue, Seremban 2, on April 10, and was concealed in the suitcase by the kidnappers to avoid detection.

"The victim and her mother had earlier visited a salon in the same area. On the way to the convenience store, the victim was snatched by two men and taken away in a vehicle.

"The victim's mother then contacted her father (the victim's grandfather), who subsequently lodged a police report," he said at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.

Mohd Shuhaily said that the victim's mother later received a call from the kidnappers demanding a ransom of RM2 million. However, she only paid RM280,000 in ransom as well as handed over some jewellery to them on April 11.

He said the girl was released in Port Dickson the next day.

He mentioned that the six suspects who were all locals, comprising three men and three women, aged between 20 and 31 years old, were arrested yesterday, and police also managed to recover RM180,000 of the ransom money.

He said police also seized several mobile phones and a metal detector used by the criminals to check if the bag holding the ransom money was embedded with a tracking device.

Mohd Shuhaily also said that investigations under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961 revealed that the kidnapping was masterminded by a woman, from among the six suspects, and that police were pursuing another male accomplice at large.

Meanwhile in Klang yesterday, Bukit Aman CID deputy director (intelligence/operations) Datuk Fadil Marsus reportedly said his team had caught up with a 21-year-old local suspect at Jalan Bayu Tinggi, Klang.

The suspect was subsequently shot dead in a shootout when he tried to flee from police in Bandar Bukit Tinggi near here.

Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the investigation is being conducted under Section 307 of the Penal Code by the CID of the Klang Selatan district police headquarters.

"This is for the offence of attempted murder of police officers while the kidnapping case falls under the jurisdiction of Negeri Sembilan police," he said after the handover ceremony of the Klang Selatan district police chief post here today.

-- BERNAMA