Post by Wes on Feb 2, 2006 13:01:40 GMT 8
A FLASHING knife. A punch in the face. A terrifying ride in their car with three robbers.
And then the Singaporean family was left in a dark plantation - minus their belongings and their $120,000, nine-month-old car.
What could have been a joyous year-end holiday in Malaysia turned out to be a seven-hour ordeal for the family of four, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
The young couple, with a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old girl, had driven to Ipoh in their SUV on 26 Dec.
They had booked a hotel there.
The man, who did not want to be named, is a bank executive here.
He said he had just parked in the hotel around 10pm and was leaning over to the back-seat of his SUV to pick up his daughter when suddenly, a man appeared, brandished a knife and said 'Do not shout'.
The shocked man passed the baby back to his wife sitting behind and stepped out to try to negotiate. But the robber pushed him back inside.
He was then punched in the face, and his glasses were smashed. Two more men turned up.
The victim told Lianhe Wanbao: 'I was very scared and told them 'You take the car but leave my family behind'.'
But the trio ignored him.
Two sat in front and one started to drive the car.
The third robber sat behind with the victim, his wife and two children.
He held the victim's head down so he couldn't see. He also had a knife pointing at the wife.
Said the victim: 'The robber drove for about 50 minutes and stopped. There was darkness all around. We were all told to get down.'
Their money, watches, wedding rings and handphones - in all, worth about $5,000 - were taken away.
The victim was also stripped to his underwear before the robbers drove off in his car.
He said: 'I had to plead with them to return my personal documents, but they only gave me my identity card.
'I'm worried because the robbers know my address and they have my house keys, which are together with the car key.'
The family was left in an oil palm plantation and they had to find their way in the darkness towards the sound of passing trains in the distance.
'We didn't dare make any noise in case the robbers were still around,' said the wife.
The family trudged through the dense plantation and finally reached a road after half an hour.
A passing car took them to the nearest police station to make a report.
They returned to their hotel around 5am on 27 Dec.
The victim said: 'It was a scary episode. I suffered some scratches but the most important thing is that my wife and children are okay.'
And then the Singaporean family was left in a dark plantation - minus their belongings and their $120,000, nine-month-old car.
What could have been a joyous year-end holiday in Malaysia turned out to be a seven-hour ordeal for the family of four, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
The young couple, with a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old girl, had driven to Ipoh in their SUV on 26 Dec.
They had booked a hotel there.
The man, who did not want to be named, is a bank executive here.
He said he had just parked in the hotel around 10pm and was leaning over to the back-seat of his SUV to pick up his daughter when suddenly, a man appeared, brandished a knife and said 'Do not shout'.
The shocked man passed the baby back to his wife sitting behind and stepped out to try to negotiate. But the robber pushed him back inside.
He was then punched in the face, and his glasses were smashed. Two more men turned up.
The victim told Lianhe Wanbao: 'I was very scared and told them 'You take the car but leave my family behind'.'
But the trio ignored him.
Two sat in front and one started to drive the car.
The third robber sat behind with the victim, his wife and two children.
He held the victim's head down so he couldn't see. He also had a knife pointing at the wife.
Said the victim: 'The robber drove for about 50 minutes and stopped. There was darkness all around. We were all told to get down.'
Their money, watches, wedding rings and handphones - in all, worth about $5,000 - were taken away.
The victim was also stripped to his underwear before the robbers drove off in his car.
He said: 'I had to plead with them to return my personal documents, but they only gave me my identity card.
'I'm worried because the robbers know my address and they have my house keys, which are together with the car key.'
The family was left in an oil palm plantation and they had to find their way in the darkness towards the sound of passing trains in the distance.
'We didn't dare make any noise in case the robbers were still around,' said the wife.
The family trudged through the dense plantation and finally reached a road after half an hour.
A passing car took them to the nearest police station to make a report.
They returned to their hotel around 5am on 27 Dec.
The victim said: 'It was a scary episode. I suffered some scratches but the most important thing is that my wife and children are okay.'
