Malaysian police have rescued a Japanese man who was held for ransom after being lured to Malaysia to marry a woman he met over the Internet, a police official said Monday.
Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department Chief Ku Chin Wah said the man was safely rescued in a Saturday night raid on a condominium in Kajang, outside Kuala Lumpur.
He said three Nigerian men and two Filipino women, all in their 30s, were arrested. One of the Nigerians was shot in the leg after allegedly resisting.
Ku said the Japanese engineer fell in love with a Filipino woman he was speaking to on Skype. He arrived last Tuesday with the intention of marrying her.
After picking him up at the airport, however, the woman handed him to three Nigerians at the condo. They tied him up and demanded $50,000 from his family in Japan. Ku said the family made an initial payment of $2,000.
Ku said the Japanese Embassy contacted Malaysian police after his family alerted police in Japan.