Daring parents fight off armed assailants' bid to kidnap daughter

Published: Tuesday August 10, 2010 MYT 12:05:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday August 10, 2010 MYT 12:06:50 PM
Daring parents fight off armed assailants' bid to kidnap daughter

MALACCA: Plucky response by the parents of an 11-year-old girl saved her from being kidnapped by four armed men in front their home in Taman Malim Jaya here Monday.

The incident unfolded around 6.50am, when the child's mother, a government servant in her 40s, was about to send her to school in Batu Berendam.

They had just got into the car in their porch, with the gate wide open, when four men in ski-masks and armed with parangs suddenly emerged from a black Toyota Harrier parked nearby and rushed towards them.

One assailant smashed the driver's window while another grabbed the girl from the front passenger's seat and bundled her into the Harrier.

The shocked woman began screaming loudly while blaring her car horn, which drew the attention of her husband and two teenage sons.

They immediately rushed out to her aid and a short scuffle ensued between them and the assailants, during which the girl managed to slip out of the Harrier.

The four men took off when they realised they were unsuccessful in their bid to kidnap the girl.

State CID Chief ACP Mohd Adnan Abdullah told reporters Tuesday that police were still investigating the motive of the incident.

He said quick thinking by the girl's mother and the daring challenge by her father, also in his 40s and a manager in a private firm, help thwart the kidnap bid.

Fortunately, no one was injured, he said, adding that the case has been classified as attempted kidnapping of a person from her guardians.