Man snatches 7-year-old boy off Johor streets, passers-by chase and stop him

A seven-year-old boy's walk home took a turn for the unexpected when a man attempted to abduct him in broad daylight.

The man offered the child a ride home on a motorcycle but the latter refused, reported Malaysian publication The Star.

The incident occurred on Wednesday (May 11) at roughly 11.30am near a fast-food restaurant in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

A car that drove past the area captured part of the incident on its dashcam, and the footage was posted by Malaysian publication UtusanTV on TikTok. The 40-second-clip has garnered 7.2 million views and over 6,300 comments at the time of writing. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@utusantvofficial/video/7096480810286468378?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6944924152827184641[/embed]

In the video, the child could be heard crying as the man dragged him across the road but thankfully, members of the public were quick to go to his aid.

A group of men noticed the man acting suspiciously and called the cops.

"This looks rather off. We must follow them. Look, the boy is asking for help," one of them was heard saying in Malay.

Once he got within earshot of the suspect, he asked: "Is this your child or not?"

The suspect replied that the boy was an orphan while the boy wailed and insisted he had parents. The shoddy response didn't sit well with the member of the public as he tried to convince the suspect to bring the child to the police station.

When the suspect attempted to make a run for it, other passers-by chased after him.

"Block, block, block! Catch him!" they yelled.

After viewing the video clips of the incident, netizens heaved a huge sigh of relief as they thanked the bystanders for stopping the suspect from running away.

The police arrested the suspect and released a statement later that day.

"A team of police personnel on patrol nearby went to the scene immediately and arrested the suspect.

"Checks on the suspect found not only that he has a disabled person card stating that he is a mental patient but is also wanted by the police for a drug offence," said Commander Kamarul Zaman.

The suspect, who tested positive for drugs, will be investigated for kidnapping under Section 363 of Malaysia's Penal Code, which carries a maximum imprisonment of seven years or fine.

In September 2019, a 35-year-old man was arrested for allegedly attempting to kidnap a three-year-old girl at City Square Mall in Johor Bahru.

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amierul@asiaone.com