Beware of 'bogus' kidnappers, cops warn

[Cao Pi]

Published: Friday November 12, 2010 MYT 3:27:00 PM

Beware of 'bogus' kidnappers, cops warn

KUALA LUMPUR: The police have advised housewives to beware of a bogus kidnapping syndicate which has collected more than RM100,000 in "ransom" so far. Sentul police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan said Friday that housewives in their 50s were the target in the cases that had been reported since last month, with a maximum ransom of RM30,000 demanded in one instance.

He said the syndicate operators usually called their victim using an unknown number and claimed that they were holding a member of the victim's family hostage. They then threaten to harm the hostage unless the ransom was "dropped" at a certain location, Zakaria told reporters after handing over 30 motorcycles to the First Response Unit here.

He said it was regretful that the victims reported to the police only after they had paid the "ransom" and found out that there had been no kidnapping. In the latest case, a 55-year-old housewife lost RM5,000 after she was tricked into believing that her son, in his 30s, had been assaulted and kidnapped.

She received a second call two days later and was told to put the money at a garbage disposal area of a restaurant in Kepong, Zakaria said. When the woman returned home and found her son unharmed, she immediately filed a report with the police. - Bernama

 

[Cao Pi]

Bogus abductors nab RM100,000


Saturday November 13, 2010

Bogus abductors nab RM100,000

By RASHITHA A. HAMID
[email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: A syndicate that targets unsuspecting housewives in a fake kidnapping scam has raked in more than RM100,000 over the past month. Syndicate members have been actively contacting women in their 50’s, claiming they had kidnapped a member of their family and demanding a ransom.

Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Zakaria Pagan said the “kidnappers” would demand a maximum ransom of RM30,000 for the release of the “captive”. “Initial investigations revealed that the syndicate members would contact their victims using an unknown number to inform them about the kidnapping, and at the same time negotiate the ransom amount.

“They would threaten to harm the hostage if the victim refused to pay the ransom,” he said, adding they would ask that the ransom be dropped off at a certain location. ACP Zakaria was speaking to reporters after handing over 30 motorcycles to the First Response Unit at the Jinjang police station yesterday. He said most of the victims would lodge reports only after paying the ransom to the “kidnappers”.

In the latest case, a 55-year-old housewife paid a ransom of RM5,000 after she received a call saying her son, in his 30s, had been kidnapped and assaulted. However, she found her son unharmed after dropping off the ransom at a garbage bin in Kepong recently. She lodged a report after realising her son was never in danger.