Tragedy @ D'Kayangan

Fellow neighbors,

A sad story to be shared and let us pray this will never happen in Greenlane. The area has neighborhood guard too and the one on duty during the incident is a Nepali. This also proves my point in the earlier postings that having guards is only a deterrent move. I also hope that more to participate in our committee meetings and assist the volunteers. Neighborhood safety is everybody's business and not a handful of residents. The volunteers are getting fed up and hope they will hang on for the sake of everybody.

In Utusan Malaysia, it was highlighted that they are the first to move in a fortnight ago.

Al Fatihah for allahyarhamah Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad.

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SHAH ALAM: A hostage situation turned tragic when the victim was killed in her master bedroom despite three hours of negotiations between the hostage-takers and police.

The two hostage-takers, said to be part of an Indonesian robbery gang, were shot dead by police who stormed the room when the woman began screaming.

The victim, Raja Noriana Raja Ahmad, 41, who was found with multiple stab and slash wounds, succumbed to her injuries an hour later at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

Raja Noriana was a director at Triways Logistics (M) Sdn Bhd where her husband, Mohd Yusof Abdul, 66, is the executive chairman. He is also group chief executive officer of Triways Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd.

The couple and their two daughters -- Puteri Erika, 22, and Puteri Akilah, 16, -- were at their double-storey house in the new neighbourhood of D'Kayangan in Section 13 here when they were awakened by noises about 4.30am yesterday.

Raja Noriana and Yusof came out of the room and were pounced upon by four men armed with parang and a gun. The commotion also brought out Puteri Akilah from her room.

All three were tied up and gagged but the robbers missed Puteri Erika, who jumped out of a window on the first floor. She broke her hip in the fall.

Police, meanwhile, were informed of the break-in by the neighbourhood guards. A team went to the house several minutes later.

Two of the men were arrested but their accomplices dragged Raja Noriana into the bedroom. Police managed to rescue Yusof and Puteri Akilah.

The master bedroom overlooks the front and since the hostage-takers did not draw the curtains, police had stationed snipers in the house opposite.

State police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, who led the negotiations, said despite negotiations, no compromise could be reached.

At 8.20am, the snipers saw Raja Noriana lying on the bed with the two men standing on either side of her. One was stabbing and slashing her while his accomplice tried to set the mattress on fire.

Khalid ordered a Special Action Unit team to storm the room. At this juncture, the snipers opened fire, killing the men.

Raja Noriana was found bleeding from injuries to the neck, shoulder and stomach. She was rushed to hospital.

Khalid said: "Police found a Smith & Wesson .32 revolver on one of the suspects along with six bullets. We also found a parang and a knife which was used to attack the victim.

"The revolver was reported stolen by a civil servant, whose house was broken into last week."

The dead Indonesians were identified as Mojib Ridwan, 25, and Abdul Sugiono, 26. The other two suspects did not have any travel documents.

The four are believed to have been responsible for at least six burglaries in the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan.