Police rescue five amok victims after over six-hour standoff

Police rescued a family of five whowere usedas ransom in a standoff that lasted over six hours after an armed man ran amok in a house at Taman Duyong Indah here early today.

Melaka Police chief Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said,inthe incident, the man in his 30s kept his wife in her 40s, his mother in her 60s and three of their daughters, aged between three to nine, as hostages as he was believed to be not satisfied with his wife and mother.

Police received a report on the incident at about 7.15 pm last night and rushed to the scene to rescue the hostages, he told reporters when met here today.

He said the police tried to negotiate with the man, asking him to surrenderhimself buthe was extremely angry with his mother and wife for allegedly conducting witchcraft on him.

"Police could not take action earlier because the suspect was armed with a machete to threaten his family members," he said.

Police, however, were forced to raid the house and managed to rescue all the hostages and arrested the suspect at about 2 am after he became increasingly aggressive towards his wife, mother and children, he said.

Chuahsaid all the victims were brought to the Melaka Hospital for treatment. The man's wife, who was believed to have been beaten, sustained injuriesonher face and eyes while investigations were being conducted to see if his mother and children were hurt in the incident.

Commenting on the six-hour standoff, he said police tried not to use force orweapons butinitiated negotiations, led by Melaka Deputy Police Chief SAC Mohd Shahrizan Che Mat due to concerns for the hostages' safety.

He said the police would conduct a detailed investigation on the incident, including the background of the suspect, who is believed to be unemployed.

"It is still premature to say if the suspect was a drug addict or under the influence of drugs when he took his family members as hostages and acted aggressively," he said.

Meanwhile oneof the suspect'sneighbourswho contacted the policeonthe incident, said the suspect was a hot temper man and frequently beat up his family members.