Ex-Mahathir press secretary among those who rescued baby Freddie

Baby Freddie safe in this arms of mommy, Sarah Joseph. - November 9, 2013.A former press secretary to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was among those instrumental in the rescue of 20-month-old Freddie Joseph who was kidnapped in Bangsar yesterday.

Datuk Zakaria Abdul Wahab was jogging at Lake Titiwangsa this morning when he saw a commotion near a toilet about12.40pm.

“I went there and saw two men and a woman with a Caucasian-looking baby. They told me they found the baby by the roadside in the park and had picked him up to comfort him,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Zakaria, who is Bernama’s deputy editor-in-chief, said as there was a function in the park, they tried looking for the child's parents, not realising that it was Freddie who had been taken from his Bangsar home yesterday.

The two men, a lorry driver and a bus driver, decided to call the police after failing to find the child's parents at the park.

They also asked the woman to tend to the child while they sought help from the police.

Taking a closer look at the child, Zakaria’s gut instinct told him that the child could be the missing boy from Bangsar.

“At this point, I called my office and sent them a picture of the child. They then confirmed that the boy was Freddie,” he said, adding that Bernama then contacted the police.

Zakaria said the police arrived quickly as they always had two policemen doing their rounds in the park.

The drama had unfolded about 6pm yesterday when Freddie was snatched from the front porch of his house.

Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department head Datuk Ku Chin Wah had said that Freddie's mother, Sarah Joseph, 38, had gone into the house after hearing some noise and left her son in the front porch.

When she came out, she saw a man grabbing her son and lunged at him while screaming for help. In the struggle which ensued, Sarah was injured in her right wrist.

A police source revealed that a neighbour attempted to intervene but backed off when the male suspect suddenly brandished a knife.

The two suspects escaped in a white Toyota Camry along with Freddie.

Police this morning was looking for leads into the incident. They are looking into the possibility that a black button found where the kidnappers' car was parked near Joseph's house could have come off one of the kidnapper's clothing.

It is understood that Sarah teaches English at a private college in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Her boyfriend and Freddie's father, a Filipino, works abroad.

She lives alone at her house in Jalan Terasek 7 together with Freddie and a Filipino maid.

Police are investigating the possibility that the kidnapping may be because of Sarah's personal problems as she may know the suspects.

The case is being investigated under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961.