The Electronic New Paper: I know Candy Uncle isn't good

[JenLee98]

I know Candy Uncle isn't good


A FEISTY 12-year-old girl foiled a kidnap attempt in Selangor, Malaysia, last week.
She rescued her 5-year-old cousin from a man who had tried to lure the pre-schooler into a van by holding out a piece of candy.

Yesterday, 38-year-old housewife Madam Zhen Wu Mei held a press conference describing the incident, hoping that parents would be on the alert for suspicious characters, especially over the busy Chinese New Year period.

Last Monday, Madam Zhen took her 12-year-old niece and two daughters, aged 5 and 7, out for dinner at 8pm. According to her, her 5-year-old and niece were playing on the pavement outside the restaurant at 9pm while waiting for their food.
She told her niece to keep an eye on her daughter. According to the niece, a black van pulled up in front of a shop on th! e opposite side of the street. A shabbily-dressed man wearing a tattered pair of jeans got out and waved to the girls, holding out a piece of candy.

Said the 12-year-old: 'My cousin couldn't resist the temptation, so she walked over. The door of the van was open and she was about to enter, so I rushed over and grabbed her right hand.

'But the man held on to her left hand and didn't want to let go.' It was in the middle of the tug-of-war that she saw a boy sitting in the back - gagged, hands tied behind his back, and quietly sobbing. The boy was clad in a pair of blue pyjamas printed with pictures of lions. 'The boy seemed to be crying out to us for help,' said the teenager. 'I knew then that the Candy Uncle wasn't a good person.'

The girl screamed for help and the man shouted at her: 'Do you want this little girl?'
When she replied 'Yes!', the man said: 'I'm going to kill! her.'
'I got a big shock,' the girl said. 'Luckily, a wo man walked past us just then. She didn't see us struggling but the man got nervous and let go of my cousin's hand.'

As the girls turned to run off, the man suddenly reached out for the teenager, covering her mouth with his hands as if he was about to drag her into the van. But another woman who was retrieving her car nearby heard the commotion and rushed over to intervene. 'The women grabbed my shoulders while the man grabbed by feet,' said the teenager. 'Then, I think the man got nervous, let go and quickly drove away.
'The woman copied down the number plate of the van and drove off, as if she was chasing the man.'

After the incident, the two girls returned to the restaurant without telling anyone about the incident. It was only later on the way home that the teenager mentioned to her aunt what happened. The next day, Madam Zhen took them to the police station where they ! spent several hours recording their statement. She asked the police if anyone had made a report about a missing boy but the police replied there had been none so far. Madam Zhen said her family wasn't rich, and the kidnapper couldn't have been after money. That was why, she said, she organised a press conference to tell her story, so parents will be alert.