The police rescued a 10-year-old girl after they shot and overpowered a man who held her hostage for six hours at the victim’s house in Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur today.

In the incident at about 10am, the police were forced to fire four shots, one of which struck the man in the abdomen.

The injured suspect was warded at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) while the girl underwent observation at the hospital.

The police are investigating the case under section 3 of the Penal Code for kidnap.

Initial investigations have revealed the suspect did not have any record of psychiatric illness but had a previous record for robbery.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said that during the six-hour negotiations with the man to release the girl, the suspect demanded water and drugs and that he be unharmed.

“We gave him water but did not entertain his demand for drugs,” he said, adding that prior to overpowering the man, a psychiatrist from HKL and the suspect’s friend tried in vain to persuade him to release the girl and surrender.

Zulkarnain said that earlier, the man had suddenly rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and took the girl hostage while the victim was watching television with her mother, a sibling and two cousins in the living room.

“The suspect threatened to harm the victim if anyone tried to approach him. He then took her into a room and locked it from inside,” he said.

The police chief said the small room initially made it difficult for the police to act swiftly as the suspect resort to doing anything if he felt threatened.

The father of the victim, known only as Syafrudin, 47, said that when the incident occurred, he was in one of the two rooms in the house.

“The front door was unlocked. The man grabbed my daughter and held a knife to her neck and threatened to hurt her if any one approached him,” he said.

A neighbour, who wished to be known only as Ramli, said the suspect was not from Kampung Baru as he had never seen him in the area before.

Another, Suhardi Osman, 45, who concurred with Ramli, said the suspect had caused a disturbance at a nearby market in the morning, prior to the incident.

“This could be the reason why he rushed into the house and held the girl hostage,” he said.

- Bernama