Recounting the harrowing experience on her Facebook account, she wrote that she was loading her shopping bags onto the backseat of her boyfriend's car when the incident took place at about 5.20pm on Sunday. She was on her own that day."Suddenly, the rear car door was slammed against my back and a meat cleaver was pressed against my throat....continue reading.
"A man covered my mouth with his hand and whispered to me not to scream. He then shoved me onto the floor of the backseat and waved the cleaver at me, ordering me not to scream."
According to her posting, which has gone viral on
Twitter and Facebook, a second man appeared and took her car keys while
demanding for the parking ticket.
"I told them they
could take everything, just to let me go. But at that point they didn't even ask
for money. Instead, one of the men started to make sexual advances.
"Then it hit me:
'Oh my God. Oh my God. This is really happening. I'm being kidnapped and I think
I know what they want'," she wrote.
Waiting for a
chance to make her escape, she said she was aware that the car would slow down
as it moved out from the car park.
She managed to open
the door but one of the suspects pulled her back in.
However, she put up
a fight with the two suspects before making a run for it.
The ordeal - from
the moment she left the parking ticket payment machine to her escape - took just
about four minutes "but it felt like a long nightmare", she wrote.
She also tweeted
that she was fortunate to just have some scratches and bruises although she lost
almost all her belongings, including her cellphone.
Meanwhile, The
Curve centre manager Jazmi Kamarudin said they would cooperate with the police
as well as offer support to Chin.
"We have also
provided our CCTV footage to assist the police with their
investigation.
"As this is an
ongoing investigation, we are unable to share any details.
"We sincerely
regret that this incident took place despite our numerous safety efforts," Jazmi
said in a statement yesterday.
Police confirmed
that a report had been lodged and that the case had been classified as
robbery.
Other Twitter users
also expressed their concern about the incident.
As I sit here
writing this, I am just so grateful to be alive.
To think that 30
hours ago I had a knife to my throat, face to face with the threat of being
kidnapped and raped.
It was a Sunday, at
5.22PM. I was alone, walking towards my boyfriend's car in level B2 of The
Curve, Mutiara Damansara. He was not in town, and I was running errands with his
car. Just as I was putting my shopping bags in the rear seat, the rear car door
was slammed against my back, and a meat cleaver was pressed against my throat. A
man covered my mouth with his hand, and whispered not to scream. He then shoved
me onto the floor of the backseat of the car and waved the cleaver at me,
reminding me not to scream. He was skinny, wearing a baggy turqoise blue
t-shirt, had a thick moustache and short curly hair, approx 5'8", mid-30s, and
of Indian descent.
At this moment,
second man appeared. He was also in his mid-30s. He was wearing a red t-shirt,
had a crewcut, and was of Malay descent. He grabbed my car keys and demanded for
my parking ticket. I couldn't remember where it was. They shoved me deeper into
the car, and the Indian man got into the back seat with me, while the Malay man
got into the driver's seat, driving us out of the carpark.
I told them they
could take everything, just let me go. But at that point they didn't even ask
for money. Instead, the Indian man started to make sexual advances. Then it hit
me. "Oh my God. Oh my God. This is really happening. I'm being kidnapped.. and I
think I know what they want."
From this moment
on, there were a few crucial things that happened that I think is the reason I'm
alive today.
1. I managed to get
into a position to escape.
When they got into
the car, the Indian man had tried to force my body down onto the floor. I knew
that the moment I'm on the floor, there would be no chance of escape. So I
begged him to let me sit up. I promised him I wouldn't scream or alert anyone's
attention. Thankfully, he trusted me, and let me sit up, gripping my arm
tightly. Then I told him my arm really hurt and to please not grip it so hard.
He loosened his grip.
2. I did not fight
for the sake of fighting.
I was in an
enclosed space, with no clear escape route. I would never win in a fight with
these 2 guys, especially when they have sharp weapons. Had I fought from the get
go, I may not have been in a position to escape. I might've even been knocked
out cold, and God only knows where I would be right now.
3. I was lucky and
sneaky.
I knew that the
only way to escape, was to jump out of the car, even if it was moving. They had
locked the car doors. So I leaned back, pretended to scratch my hair, and
shakily unlocked the door I was leaning against. I'm so lucky they did not see
or hear this!
4. I went 'crazy'
at the right time.
And then I waited.
I knew that the car would have to slow down outside the parking lot, as it exits
to merge with the main roads. The moment it slowed down, I opened the car door
and tried to make a run for it. I failed. I kicked my legs out of the car, but
the Indian man had managed to pull my body back in. From this moment on,
everything is a blur. I remember the Malay driver temporarily stopping the car,
leaning over from the driver's seat and attempting to close the door and pull my
legs in. At that point I remember thinking, "Even if I don't get out now, I need
to keep the door open and my legs out the door. At the very least, it should
cause a scene, and someone would see me. Or, the door might hit another car and
they'll be forced to slow down." So I continued kicking. My right foot pushed
against the wide-open car door to keep it open. I recall elbowing, struggling,
kicking, and even biting. I lost my glasses, and was struggling blindly for my
life. At some point the Malay driver yelled, "BAGI DIA LEPAS! BAGI DIA LEPAS!"
(Let her go! Let her go!) and the Indian man loosened his grip. I made a jump
out of the still-moving car, and ran for my life.
5. I acted in spite
of the fear.
My friends said I
was brave. But I didn't feel like it. I was quivering and shaking in fear. I was
so afraid. I thought I was going to die. I was weak with fear and deathly
afraid. I truly thought "this was it". But I knew I HAD to move. I had to run.
Or there would be a worser fate in store for me. While I was quaking in fear, I
forced myself to look around and see if there was any way I could escape, or
even catch someone's eye.
6. I remembered the
people I love.
The only thing that
matters when you're faced with potentially horrendous fate, is the people in
your life. When I felt the knife to my neck, the first thing I thought was ,
"This cannot be happening. I must be dreaming." The second? The people that
truly matter to me flashed across my mind. It sounds cliche, but it's true. I
thought of my parents. My brother. Khailee. Esther. More people. That's all I
could think of for a few moments, before I thought, "Shit. I need to get out of
here."
I ran towards the
Maybank outlet at the Curve. There were plenty of people milling around. I
screamed for help over and over again. I was hysterical. I grabbed an older
Malay man by his shoulders and begged for help before practically collapsing at
his feet.
I will always
remember the relief and liberation I felt, running over Mutiara Damansara's
manicured grass and into the crowd.
Today, I found out
that the entire ordeal from the moment I left the parking ticket payment
machine, to my escape, happened in about 4 minutes. To me, it felt like one long
nightmare.
We never think its
going to happen to us... and then it does. I used to think that this is
something that happens only in the papers and to people far, far removed from
me. But then it did happen to me. I moved to PJ/KL 6 years ago, and I've spent
countless mornings, afternoons and nights at The Curve. When my friends and I
were organizing Rock Up! back in 2008, we were walking around the place at 4AM
even. It's been 6 years, and never once did I feel that I was unsafe at The
Curve. Until yesterday.
I feel like moving
out of the country ASAP. Getting the hell out of this state where you hear of a
kidnapping or attempted one every month (remember Nayati?), or a snatch theft
every week. And yet I'm fully aware of the fact that in another country with
more lax firearm laws, they would've been holding a gun to my head, not a
cleaver. And that would've been so, so much worse.
I'm Blessed. By
God's grace, I am alive and relatively well. And I will live another day to
build another cat iPhone app. It just was not my time to go. And for that, I
thank God.
I want to share
this story with everyone because cops tell me that they rarely get to hear it
from someone who escapes.
Girls, be so very
careful. Be vigilant, and please try not to go anywhere alone. If you need to
walk to the carpark, and you're alone, get a guard to go with you. I was
recently told that it's part of their job description to assist anyone if
needed.
Guys, watch out for
your girlfriends, wives, mothers, sisters and friends. Walk with them, don't
take their paranoia or fear lightly. Watch out for them.
And everyone, just
watch out for each other. Take care of each other. These things really DO
happen. As I ran out of the car, so many people came to help me. Strangers who
didn't know who I was, came forward and offered me tissue paper, water,
cellphones, and general comfort.
Malaysians, please
care for one another. You already do. Just keep on caring. Keep watching out for
each other. Don't worry about being thought of as "busy body" or "overreacting".
The world can be a cruel place, but all it takes is for people to care for one
another to make all the difference.
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