GEORGE TOWN - A horrifying ordeal unfolded for an Indonesian woman who was kidnapped, locked up, and abused for 10 days by a group of men across several states, including Penang.
Penang Police chief Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said that the victim from Medan was kidnapped by three men while on holiday with three female friends in the state.
The 36-year-old woman had been abducted in Paya Terubong and locked up in Butterworth, he added.
However, he said the woman's three friends were released in the middle of a road and were not harmed by the suspects.
"The victim was locked up for three days in Butterworth, four days in Puchong, and three days in Shah Alam. The victim was finally rescued at a house in Shah Alam after the victim's husband filed a police report.
"The suspects had locked the victim in several locations to make it difficult for the police to trace her.
"During the rescue operation, the police also found a 27-year-old foreign man who was also kidnapped, but it was not related to the case," he said at a press conference at Penang Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK) today.
"However, the victim was fed by the suspects. She who is an online businesswoman, is now being treated at a hospital, and her condition is reportedly stable," he added.
Elaborating on the crime, he said that the victim was kidnapped on Sept 7, but her 47-year-old husband lodged the report on Sept 15.
"After being kidnapped, the suspects asked the victim to contact her husband, who is in Indonesia, to pay a business debt of RM540,000.
"The victim's husband made two transactions of RM50,750 on Sept 12 and 13 to the group's mastermind.
"However, the suspects still did not release his wife, causing the victim's husband to come to Kuala Lumpur and make a police report on September 15.
"After receiving the report, the police executed 'Op Scorpion Rantai Penang' to identify the location of the victim," he said.
He added that, as a result of the operation, the police arrested 14 suspects, including two foreign men, in several locations in Selangor, Perak, and Kuala Lumpur.
"Five of them have past records involving crime and drugs, while others tested negative for drugs. They are remanded for seven days until September 23," he said.
Khaw said that further investigation found that the main suspect was a business partner of the victim's husband and ran a business together in Kuala Lumpur.
"They are both contractors, and the victim's husband allegedly owed business money and failed to pay, which resulted in his wife being kidnapped.
"After realising that the business money was not paid, the suspect became angry and kidnapped his friend's wife.
"We seized several items, including 23 mobile phones, 36 cable wires, RM4,800 in cash, an iron chain, and an iron bar. We had also confiscated four vehicles, including the one used to abduct the victim," he said.
The case is investigated in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961.