KUALA TERENGGANU: A 17-year-old villager here thought he could make a quick buck for Hari Raya Aidilfitri by demanding a fake ransom.
But his plan to cash in on the misery of others proved to be a bad idea when he was arrested within a few hours.
The teenager from Kampung Teluk Pasu, Manir, tried to extort RM7,000 from another villager, whose 15-year-old daughter went missing on July 31.
In his police report then, the father said he believed she had run away with her boyfriend.
On Saturday, he decided to place a missing person’s advertisement in a local daily.
The teenager sent a text message to the girl’s father, aged 64, claiming that she had been kidnapped by him.
“The teen alleged that she was being held at an undisclosed location and demanded a RM7,000 ransom,” acting state Criminal Investigation Department chief Superintendent K. Manoharan said.
Suspecting something amiss, the girl’s father lodged a police report.
A special police team investigated and traced the number back to the teenager, who after being arrested on Monday, admitted to the crime.
He is being investigated for extortion, Manoharan said, adding that police were still looking for the missing girl.
In another matter, Manoharan said state police had made 29 seizures of firecrackers in the past two weeks, of which 16 cases had been brought to court.
The rest were being reviewed by the deputy public prosecutor’s office.-NST
