KOTA KINABALU: A knife-wielding man, who held a woman hostage in a two-hour standoff with the police in Damai Luyang, Kota Kinabalu yesterday, was under the influence of drugs.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said a urine test was conducted on the 27-year-old man shortly after his arrest.
“He tested positive for syabu. We have remanded him for seven days, starting today, to facilitate investigation,” he said, adding that the man is a foreigner.
Ramli said the female victim has been discharged from the hospital this morning but is still traumatised by the event.
The case is being probed under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961 for abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom) and Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempting to murder.
Prior to the 7.30pm incident yesterday, the man had tried to break into a house at Taman Istimewa in Jalan Kolam, located behind the Luyang police station.
The owner of the house saw him and alerted the police. The man panicked and ran to another house, where he grabbed the woman.
The victim was outside her house when she was taken at knifepoint. The situation became tense as the man took her to the busy road and dragged her along the street, with the knife placed along her neck.
Police were deployed to the scene, where a section of the busy road was cordoned off to keep the public away from the area as police tried to negotiate with the man.
The woman was eventually rescued near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 about 9.50pm.
Police personnel had disguised themselves as medical staff and approached the man on the pretext of wanting to check on the woman’s condition and at the same time, calm the man down.
The team then arrested the man and seized a six-inch knife from him.
Meanwhile, the woman’s family members declined to speak to the media but thanked the police for expertly handling the situation.