YAN: The abduction and rape of a teenage girl uncovered by police yesterday shocked the peaceful neighbourhood of a village here.
Villagers had no clue of the crime allegedly committed at a single storey house, where the main suspect was arrested, located close to the road used by everyone.
Six others were also arrested for investigations into the case where the girl was missing for a week before she was rescued.
According to a resident, the main suspect in the abduction and rape case is local but he has not him for some time.
“Most of the villagers knew that the suspect was involved in illegal activities and were afraid to get close to him,” he said.
Another villager said he had just returned from holiday in Perak when he heard about the case.
He said one of the seven people held were locals but he was not sure of who the others were
Kedah Criminal Investigations Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mior Farid Al Athrash Wahid said police have obtained a week long remand order for the main suspect, in his 50s, this morning.
He added police also have obtained a four-day remand order to six others who were detained with the main suspect.
“The remand order was granted by Sungai Petani magistrate’s court and we are probing the case under Section 376 and Section 343 of the Penal Codes, for rape and wrongful confinement, respectively,” he said.
Mior Farid said preliminary investigation revealed that only the main suspect had raped the girl.
He said the six suspects detained together with the man were his friends. All of them work at a nearby workshop.
“The victim is being treated at the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Sungai Petani and she is reported to be in stable condition,” he said.
According to Mior Farid, the victim was not drugged during the one week she was kept at the house.
He said police are also probing on how the girl ended up with the main suspect.
It was reported that Kedah police headquarters’s D9 Serious Crimes unit stormed the house, located in Kuala Sungai Yan after receiving word of the abduction on Monday.
The main suspect had a criminal record and was wanted by police for a litany of offences, including robbery, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and drug abuse.
Police also recovered stolen goods in the same house including a Proton Perdana and a BMW car, two high-powered motorcycles, mobile phones and television sets.