A RECENT kidnapping incident involving a Korean man who was rescued by the police on April 21 took a dramatic turn after police discovered that the victim is a wanted individual in his home country
The 40-year-old victim, who has been in this country since 2016, is believed to have been locked up, tied up, beaten and threatened with an object resembling a gun after being kidnapped on April 17.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Director, Datuk M Kumar, said the victim was kidnapped while travelling from Genting Highlands to Kuala Lumpur.
"During the incident, the victim, who was alone, was being followed by a vehicle before being overtaken by the suspect.
"The victim was pulled out of the vehicle, beaten, tied up and put into the suspect's vehicle before being taken to an unknown location," he said in a press conference at Bukit Aman.
He said police had received two reports on the incident, one from the victim's friend and one from a woman who claimed to be his wife.
"The initial investigation was conducted by the Pahang Contingent before Bukit Aman took over monitoring and assisted in further investigations.
"A special task force was established involving the Pahang Contingent, Melaka and Bukit Aman JSJ, including the secret societies, gambling and immorality (D7), special operations (D8) and serious crimes (D9) divisions," he said.
He said that as a result of intelligence, the team managed to track down the victim's location before launching a raid on a house in Melaka.
"The victim was successfully rescued while three Korean male suspects aged between 28 and 40 were arrested.
"During the period of confinement, the victim was tied up, beaten and threatened with an object resembling a gun," he said.
According to him, the suspect also contacted the victim's friend and demanded a ransom of about RM39.6 million (10 million USD) via a crypto account.
He added, however, that RM11.9 million (3 million USD) was deposited into the account before the money was transferred to several other accounts to avoid detection.
"With the cooperation of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, approximately RM11.45 million (USD2.46 million) was successfully traced and frozen involving three accounts.
"The freeze is in effect for nine months for further investigation," he said.
Kumar said several items, including a replica gun, rope and adhesive tape used to cover the victim's mouth as well as the victim's vehicle, were also seized, and a check found that the vehicle was registered to a company that is no longer active.
"All suspects were remanded for seven days from April 22 to 28 to assist in the investigation.
"A check found that two suspects entered the country in March using social visit passes valid until June, while the other had no record of entry," he said.
In a similar development, he said that an investigation with the Korean Embassy found that the victim was actually a wanted individual in his home country.
"The victim's passport has been revoked, and an Interpol red notice has also been issued against him for suspected involvement in illegal gambling activities and organised crime.
"The victim is believed to have been in Malaysia since 2016 and moved to several locations during that period," he said. – April 24, 2026
