Kuala Lumpur, May 3 (Inditop) Malaysian authorities rescued a Sri Lankan teenager who had been held captive for eight months and arrested two suspects, a news report said Sunday.
The 14-year-old boy was supposed to be on his way to Switzerland to be with his family when the Malaysian agent appointed to make the travel arrangements held the boy captive for ransom, the Star daily reported.
The victim’s grandmother, S. Pushparatnam, living in Switzerland, had paid an agent 67,500 ringgit ($19,565) in August 2008, to help take her grandson out of Sri Lanka as it was difficult to secure a visa for the boy’s travel, the report said.
The victim’s mother is recuperating from an operation in Switzerland while his father is a carpenter in Colombo.
After payments were made, the victim was brought to Malaysia on a tourist visa instead and placed under the care of a local agent named Shanti, who later made several demands for more money.
Pushparatnam then sought the assistance of a local politician April 26, who organised a joint operation with the police to rescue the boy.
“I was taken to several houses and every time I asked to speak to my parents or grandmother, I was threatened,” the victim said, adding that he was beaten and forced to do housework during his captivity.
Selangor state police chief Hasnan Hassan said Shanti and her brother-in-law, both in their 30s, were being investigated for kidnapping or abducting.