Wrong man kidnapped, freed in minutes
KUALA LUMPUR — A group of kidnappers bungled an abduction when they bundled the wrong man into their car in broad daylight.
The group only realized their mistake after a few minutes into the getaway ride and promptly let the man go.
The victim, R. Karunakaran, 59, was watering his plants outside his house along Jalan Api-Api 1, Kepong Baru at 8:30 a.m. last Tuesday when a man approached him, asking about a vehicle outside the victim’s house.
“He asked if I was selling the lorry parked outside my house, but he was acting very strangely so I slowly backed away.
“Suddenly, another man grabbed me and pushed me behind the lorry. I tried to struggle but they had a parang (knife) on my neck,” he said.
The men took Karunakaran’s gold chain before shoving him into a Proton Waja and speeding off.
“They told me they were going to kill me and that there was a RM150,000 price on my head,” he told reporters at a press conference on Sunday.
However, a few minutes into what he thought was “the last ride of my life”, one of the kidnappers received a phone call, he said.
“I heard him saying, ‘Oh, we got the wrong guy’. The man they were after lived in house No. 8, my house is No. 1,” he said.
He said the kidnappers then quickly stopped the car and shoved him out of the car before driving off.
“Three of them wore masks while the one who first approached me did not,” he said.
He added that police have alerted all the houses with No. 8 in their addresses to be more cautious.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who was at the press conference, said that the recent trend of kidnapping in the news is worrying.
“The public should be more alert and quickly inform the police if they see anything suspicious,” he said.
Sentul OCPD Asst. Comm. R. Munusamy said a check on the car’s license plate showed that it was bogus.
“Anyone with information on this case should contact the police immediately,” he said.
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