Three teens remanded over attempted kidnap case

JOHOR BARU: The three remaining suspects – all teenage dropouts – have been arrested by the police on suspicion of being involved in the attempted kidnapping of a seven-year-old boy in Jalan Serampang here.

Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said the suspects, aged 15, 17 and 18, were arrested in Pontian, about 60km away from the scene of the abduction.

“The teens are working at food and beverage outlets.

“They were detained at around 5.40pm on Wednesday and have been brought to the Johor Baru Magistrate’s Court for remand to aid in our investigations,” he said yesterday.

The three suspects, wearing orange lock-up attire, were brought before magistrate Nur Fatin Mohamad Farid who granted a four-day remand order until Dec 24.

They were allegedly linked to a 41-year-old car mechanic who had planned the kidnapping for a RM300,000 ransom.

ACP Raub reportedly said the victim, a Chinese national with Singapore permanent resident status, was kidnapped not far from the city centre at around 4.30pm on Dec 12.

However, no ransom was paid, as police arrested the mechanic, who was the main suspect, on the same day and placed him under a seven-day remand.

It is learnt that the victim’s father, a businessman, had brought his family of four to Johor Baru as he was planning to invest here.

The couple were inside a shoplot in Jalan Serampang, Taman Pelangi, while the victim and his sister were playing outside when a man apparently got out of a car and grabbed the boy.