Non-bailable offence: The suspect being apprehended at the tuition centre over the abduction of the 12-day-old baby (inset)
MALACCA: An aunt of a newborn is allegedly behind the kidnapping of the baby boy in Taman Kota Laksamana.
The child’s 24-year-old aunt, who manages a tuition centre, and her 25-year-old husband, have been arrested.
The other suspects nabbed were two 21-year-old women who work at the centre, said police.
Police said the couple were on the baby’s paternal side.
State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Kamaluddin Kassim and a team of 40 policemen tracked down the kidnappers after the baby was taken from his home on Tuesday evening.
Malacca police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Chuah Ghee Lye said the child was rescued unharmed from a shoplot in Pulau Gadong at about 10.30pm on Wednesday.
“We have sent mother and baby for a check-up at the Malacca Hospital,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters yesterday.
He said the four were arrested under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961 (Act 365), a non-bailable offence.
They have been remanded for a week, he added.
DCP Chuah said police nabbed the suspects as the RM200,000 ransom was about to be handed over by the baby’s 28-year-old father, who is a contractor.
The kidnappers had demanded RM300,000 but the amount was reduced after negotiation, he said.
Police believe the couple kidnapped the baby because of financial problems.
According to the police report, the 12-day-old baby was abducted by a stranger.
A woman wearing a cap entered the houses at about 6.30pm and snatched the baby from a cradle in the living room.
The mother was taking a nap in her bedroom at the time while the babysitter, a foreign maid, was busy preparing milk for the baby.
Neighbours later heard the 20-year-old mother screaming when her baby went missing.
