Former reporter Rita Zahara kidnapped & now safely back home

QX179R SG

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean family is now safely back home after a harrowing experience early this morning in Johor Bahru.

37-year-old Rita Zahara was driving back to Singapore with her sister, two children and her maid.

About three kilometres from the Immigration Checkpoint at Woodlands, she stopped at a petrol station to top up her tank.

Her sister, two children and maid remained in the locked car while Rita left to buy fruits.

That was when two men armed with guns and knives demanded they open the door.

After accessing the car, they sped off with the four members in the car.

Upon seeing that her car was missing, Rita called her sister's cell phone, which was answered by one of the kidnappers.

They demanded money from her and threatened to kill her family if she went to the police.

For the next four hours, Rita negotiated with kidnappers.

At the same time, she was also in contact with Malaysian and Singapore authorities.

The kidnappers finally released her family by the roadside.

Helped by villagers nearby, they were brought back to the police station.

The culprits stole her car and all the valuables inside worth some 200,000 Malaysian ringgit.

- CHANNEL NEWSASIA

QX179R SG

JB police form special team to investigate kidnapping case

SINGAPORE: Malaysian media Mstar.com.my has reported that Johor Bahru (JB) police have formed a special team to look into the kidnapping of a Singaporean family on Sunday.

The head of Investigations of the Johor Police Department, Amer Awal, was quoted as saying that authorities are working on several leads.

Armed men kidnapped 37-year-old Singaporean Rita Zahara's younger sister, two children and maid, when they stopped at a petrol station in the early hours of the morning on Sunday.

They took off in her car and demanded ransom for the release of Ms Zahara's family.

The family was released unharmed, after several hours.

Ms Zahara's car, a white Nissan Sunny, is still missing.

Channel NewsAsia spoke to a regular traveller to Johor Bahru who said such crimes won't deter his travel plans but has this piece of advice.

Alan Tang, who travels to JB three to four times a week for work, said: "I think the key thing to note is to be vigilant. Avoid quiet and isolated areas. The thing that lots of people tend to overlook is the maintenance of your car. Make sure you have a car that is well serviced to avoid having unnecessary breakdowns when you are in a foreign country. Most people like to pump petrol when in Malaysia, so choose petrol stations which are fairly crowded."

- CNA/ck