Kajang kidnap: Local businessman the mastermind

RM30,000 ransom money found in getaway car and RM60,000 under motorcycle seat

SHAH ALAM: Police have detained four men including a local businessman believed to be the mastermind in the kidnap of a five-year-old boy in Sungai Chua, Kajang on Friday.

The suspects, aged between 28 to 45 years, including an Indonesian and a taxi driver who sent the boy home, were detained separately on Friday night.

Selangor police chief Abdul Samah Mat said the mastermind lived 2km-3km from the house of the boy’s family and was believed to be acquainted with the boy’s father in business.

Abdul Samah said the motive for the kidnapping was still being investigated but did not rule out the possibility that the man, who has a printing business, could be having financial problems.

Police have recovered RM291,550 of the ransom and are investigating to determine where the rest had gone, and to find out if the other suspects were hired by the mastermind.

Recounting the details of the case, Abdul Samah said the boy was kidnapped by three men when his mother had sent him to a kindergarten in Sungai Chua, Kajang, at 9.26am.

“A man stopped his car in front of her car on the pretext of asking a question while another man grabbed the boy and pulled him into their car before speeding off,” he said.

The boy’s father received a telephone call at 10.50am demanding a ransom of RM300,000. As instructed, he placed the money by the roadside near a major supermarket in Saujana Impian, Kajang.

The boy was freed at 5.40pm and a taxi driver drove him to his family in Taman Suria, Sungai Chua, Abdul Samah said.

He said police had set up a special team to investigate the case. The first arrest was made as a result of intelligence work at 10.10pm on Friday night when two men were detained in front of a mini market in Jalan Sungai Chua.

“The 28-year-old man and an Indonesian national, 32, were in a Proton Saga, which we found to be the one used for the kidnap,” Abdul Samah told reporters.

He said RM30,000 in cash was found under the car seat and a pair of false identification plates, which were believed to be used during the kidnapping, was also found in the car.

At 12.15am, police detained a local man, aged 45 years, and believed to be the mastermind, in his house in Kajang Raya, Sungai Chua. An inspection found RM1,050 in cash in his wallet and RM60,500 under his motorcycle seat outside the house.

“Police also seized a purple bag which was believed to have been used by the father of the victim for the ransom money,” he said.

In a follow-up to the arrests, Abdul Samah said the taxi driver who sent the child home was also arrested and his taxi seized at 12.15am to help in investigation.

He said the child was in a healthy condition despite bruises on the hand and body.

— BERNAMA