From: Shamsudin, Fariny SRCPD-OMT41 Subject: It happened to me! Dear all, I am writing after an unfortunate incident which happened to me two days ago, on Saturday 19/03/2005. I nearly got kidnapped in my own car by a man who was pretending to want to buy my car. I am so thankful to Allah Almighty that me and my loved ones are safe and that he only got my camera phone. The man is about 45 years old of age, a dark skinned malay, approximately 5' 9" and heavy set. He CANNOT from any angle be considered a good looking man. I'd like to share this story with all of you so that you can be more watchful and cautious in whatever you do. Take care of yourself and each other. p/s: I suspended my number temporarily, should get it back by end of the week... Regards, Fariny HOW IT HAPPENED I recently placed an ad in the newspapers to sell my car. In the ad, I stated "...1 lady owner, low mileage.." which were all good selling points for a car. On Saturday at 1145 hrs I received a call from a man who named himself Elly. He claims that he is from Bukit Aman, the police HQ. He said that he needs a car urgently. He asked to see my car on the same day at 1430 hrs near 1-Utama because he said he was not familiar with my area and will have diffculties finding my house. When I mentioned this to my father, he instantly said, "Bukit Aman ke Bukit Penipu? Be extra careful..." At 1400 hours, he called saying that his sister will drop him off at 1-Utama at the overhead bridge between 1-Utama One and 1-Utama Two. Since it was very near to my house, I suggested that I bring him to my house to view the car instead of dealing by the roadside or in a dark car park. He agreed. Before leaving for 1-Utama, my fiance and I cleared the back seat of our car which had among other valuables a pair of expensive watches which we were intending to send for decoration as "hantaran" for our coming wedding. I also emptied out my wallet which contained RM 600 in cash to my mother before leaving the house. My mother also told me to be extra careful as I was leaving. On the way to 1-Utama, I sent this man's handphone number to my mother via sms. She in turn asked for fiance's car plate number, "just in case". In general, we are a paranoid family, but we believe - better paranoid then dead. At 1430 hrs, my fiance and I arrived at 1-Utama. I saw a dark malay man around 45 years of age wearing a brownish floral print shirt and sun glasses standing next to some bushes. I thought that was rather odd because if he wanted shade, he could have taken three steps to his left, and he will be fully covered by the overhead bridge. Plus, I had called him earlier to give him a description of the vehicle and the plate number, yet he missed us even though we had passed right in front of him. But I let it pass... We called him and prompted him into our car. He came in, gave the "salam" apologized for the trouble and we started chatting. He claims to have been working in Surabaya for 3 years with the Malaysian police intelligence. He says he has only been back for a month and was looking for a car for his wife. If everything was agreeable, he intended to buy the car for cash. My fiance and I were frankly surprised because he did not look or dress rich. When we arrived at my house, he came out and greeted my father with the "salam". When I think back, I am disgusted by this man and his pretense, using the name of Islam to do evil. He looked at the car externally and then opened the front hood to inspect the engine. He then asked for the car keys to start the engine. I went in to get the keys, but before handing him the keys, I pressed my automatic gate remote and shut the gates. He tested the car, made some general inquiries about the car and after about 15 minutes discussion and negotiation, he agreed to purchase the car. He said that he will pay me a RM 2 k deposit and wanted me to send him back to 1-Utama where he will pay me the deposit and I was to sign a letter of receipt in the presence of what he referred to as a "watcher". I assume with his poor english he was referring to a witness. We drove him back to 1-Utama where he asked us to drop him off at the back entrance, where all the taxi stands are. When we arrived, he asked my fiance who was in the driver's seat to come out with him into 1-Utama to receive the deposit. I objected because we were double parked and obstructing traffic and that we should go and park somewhere. He quickly interjected insisting that it would only be for a moment and started to rush us. I got irritated by his pushiness and I firmly refused to let my fiance out of the driver's seat. The reason was because I could not drive a manual car and hence would have difficulty moving the car if anything happened. I insisted that I will come with him instead into 1-Utama since I am the owner of the car anyway. My fiance also insisted, saying that he is not the owner of the car, hence his signature doesn't bear any weight. He finally agreed. In 1-Utama, I followed him up to the 2nd floor at the entrance of Jaya Jusco. I noticed that he was wearing a thick metal bracelet, which was uncommon amongst older malay men, in particular religious ones. I let it pass. He then asked me to wait by the City Chain outside Jaya Jusco. Again, I thought that was rather odd - why not just let me meet his wife? Again, I let it pass. He walked into Jaya Jusco while talking on the phone, supposedly to his wife, saying that he was outside at the City Chain. Then, suddenly his phone appeared to die in mid-sentence and he asked if he can use my phone. I said sure but when he put his hand outfor my phone, I said, "No, I will call for you. What is the number?" He gave me a funny look and recited a handphone number. As I was putting the phone to my ear he grabbed it and started talking and slowly started to walk away from me. I was outraged by this rude man and started to walk after him, ready to give him a price of my mind. He turned around and looked at me while still talking...and then he dashed. I chased right after him screaming at the top of my lungs, "Pencuri!!! Tolong, pencuri!! Kejar dia, pencuri handphone!!". I chased him two floors down the escalator and one floor up and never stopped screaming. People started to scream with me and the guards started to appear but there was too many people and I was in my heels. I lost him soon after and the guards did not have much success either. They went off somewhere, perhaps to look at the exits but they were unsuccessful. In retrospect, I wish I had taken off my shoes and thrown them at him. I know I could have caught up with him because he was old and fat and was not running very fast. His only advantage was the crowd. The guards later came back saying that one guard on the lower ground floor had seen this exact man running with a handphone towards the exit (... and did nothing?). The guards recognized this man man but failed to coordinate themselves via walkie-talkie to block all the exits in Jaya Jusco, which at max must be 10 exits?. I suggest to 1-Utama management to ensure that their security guards have some form of security training. If thieves can happily snatch handphones off your hands in 1-Utama and get away with it, then its not really a safe place to shop and bring your kids to. I was very upset to have lost my handphone which was a precious gift from my fiance. However, I am thankful to Allah that me and my loved ones are not harmed because we now realize that it was not my handphone that he was after but my car, with me in it. In retrospect, we realized the following which were giveaways: Fortunately I had shut the gates before giving him the keys to my car so he could not drive away with it Fortunately my fiance did not leave the driver's seat with the engine running - we suspect the reason why he was so adamant about my fiance leaving the car was because he had an accomplice on standby to come into the car and drive it away, with me in it. He was targeting single women - he asked this when he called me about the advert He was not targeting my fiances' handphone because it is not an expensive one. He was not targeting my handphone either because he did not see it prior to that hence would not know that it is an expensive camera phone. He was expecting me to come alone because did not see us when we arrived at 1-Utama despite us giving him description and the car plate number- because he was looking out for a car with only one driver He never took off his sunglasses to hide his eyes He purposely asked us to stop at the back entrance which had less traffic compared to the front entrance, making it easy for him or an accomplice to speed off with the car I am so thankful to Allah that my fiance did not leave the drivers seat, or else I would not be writing this e-mail today. My aim is to spread this incident to others so that he will be unsuccessful in his next attempt to kidnap another lady and steal her car. My family and I already had bad feelings about this man but we let it pass, which turned out to be a big mistake ---> SO TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. If you're selling your car, be accompanied by a man. Do not meet in places where someone can drive off your car - if possible, make sure he drives himself Never, never leave the drivers seat with the engine running, in particular when your loved ones are in the passenger side And finally, as much as I hate to say this - TRUST NO ONE. Incidents like this are sad because it make you suspect everybody. But the reality is, KL is not a safe place anymore. I know this evil man will get his punishment from God Almighty sooner or later and when it comes, it will be severe. But I hope it will be sooner, before we kidnaps another woman. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of Hidayahnet unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from Hidayahnet, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hidayahnet/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
