By News Desk in Kuala Lumpur/The
Star | Asia News
Network – 7
hours ago
Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - A 34-year-old man with a previous
conviction for armed robbery, who barged into a house in Kampung
Baru here and took a 10-year-old girl hostage on Monday, was shot
by the police and died later in hospital.
The girl was unharmed.
Relating the ordeal, the girl's father, Shafrudin Marlis, 47,
said that he, his wife and three children were watching television
about 11am, when a half-naked man stormed into their home at Lorong
Raja Muda Musa 6 and grabbed a knife from the kitchen.
"It was only a matter of seconds before he grabbed my daughter
Fifi Ramadani and threatened to kill her if we approached him," he
said, when met at the house Monday after the girl had been rescued
by police and the man arrested.
Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said that when
police arrived at the scene moments after receiving a distress
call, the man had locked himself in a room in the house and taken
the girl hostage.
"He demanded for drugs and water. We gave him water and also
called in a psychiatric specialist from Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL)
to talk to the man and assess his condition," he told
reporters.
He said that police also brought in one of the suspect's friends
to try to coax him to release the girl.
"But all our attempts failed. We then had to shoot the suspect
after he became more aggressive. We fired four shots, which hit him
in the rib area," ACP Zulkarnain said.
The girl was brought out safely about 4.10pm. She was unhurt but
taken in an ambulance to Hospital Kuala Lumpur as she was in
shock.
The man was brought out on a stretcher about 10 minutes
later.
ACP Zulkarnain said the man was also taken to HKL for treatment.
He succumbed to his injuries Monday evening.
As soon as the man was taken away in an ambulance, residents who
had gathered at the scene cheered the police and the psychiatrist
for their success in saving the girl.
He added that initial investigations showed that the man was
from Sabah.
