Abducted Bangladeshi rescued in Malaysia

A kidnapped Bangladeshi expatriate was rescued by Malaysian police who raided a house in Shah Alam area of Selangor province on Tuesday and found him tied to a chair naked after being beaten up, confirmed the Bangladesh high commission officials yesterday.

Malaysian police also busted a kidnapping syndicate that preys on migrant workers and demands money from their families back home, MSK Shaheen, first secretary (consular) at the Kuala Lumpur mission, told The Daily Star. 

He could not give further details about the victim. 

"We were told the 32-year-old Bangladeshi welder was kidnapped in front of his home in Taman Cahaya in Selanagor on May 7 at about 9:30pm," Selangor criminal investigation department chief senior assistant commissioner Mohammad Adnan Abdullah told Malaysian daily  The Star. 

Raiding the house in Taman Medan, police also arrested 16 Bangladeshis, Indians, Sri Lankans and Malaysians in Kajang and Petaling Jaya, the report said. 

Two were Malaysian women, one of whom had a pair of handcuffs and a toy pistol, which police believe was used in the kidnapping.

On May 8, the victim's cousin lodged a police report that his family in Bangladesh had received a call demanding Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 1,40,000 equivalent to Tk 30 lakh for his release, it said. 

Police investigations suggested that the Bangladeshi was approached by a woman posing as a police officer before he was dragged 
by three men into a car. "We believe this group was involved in other kidnappings of  foreigners, especially Bangladeshis," said police officer Adnan Abdullah. "We are digging up old cases to see if they were involved."

Two months ago, two Bangladeshi students were rescued from kidnappers, also from Bangladesh, said Shaheen.

"Some kidnappers from Bangladesh remain involved in criminal activities here. We are working with the Malaysian police to identify and arrest them for the sake of both nations." The criminals mainly target the well-off Bangladeshis to realise ransom, he mentioned.