Authorities in Gelang Patah in southern Johor, Malaysia, have arrested seven men reportedly connected with the kidnapping of a vegetable trader from Singapore. The unnamed victim is a businessman in his fifties, reported to be taken on January 27.
A small town near the Johor portion of the Second Link bridge at Tuas, Gelang Patah is near the Iskandar Puteri, formerly known as Nusajaya, township.
The alleged kidnappers were nabbed after the businessman’s family paid RM1 million (S$330,000) as ransom, according to Mohd Khalil Mohd Kader, the police chief of Johor.
The ransom amount was paid on January 31. One day after payment, the businessman was set free.
As soon as the victim was released, police sprung into action to catch the suspects.
As soon as the victim was released, police sprung into action to catch the suspects. In their endeavor to capture the kidnappers, police from Johor also found a portion of the ransom money, as well as some weapons.
By Friday, February 1, just one day after the Singaporean businessman was set free, police were able to round up some of the suspects. The others were captured by Saturday, February 2. A joint force from the Johor police and a special unit from Kuala Lumpur police headquarters went after the suspects, who are now being held under Malaysia’s Kidnapping Act and the Firearms Act.
The incident was confirmed by the police at Johor Baru on Wednesday, February 6. More information about the kidnapping of the Singaporean victim, as well as the arrest of the seven men, is expected to be announced at a news conference today, February 7.