Singapore fugitives in JB, part 2

There's been another case of crime in Johor Baru with a Singapore connection.

According to The Star on Monday, a man, who has been on the wanted list in Singapore for 20 years, and two others have been detained in connection with the kidnapping of a businessman’s son in JB.

The report said the three men, in their 20s to 40s, were arrested in a series of raids around the city soon after the 23-year-old victim was released after a ransom of RM600,000 was paid recently. The suspects initially asked for a RM1 million ransom.

The report didn't make it clear whether the mastermind of the plot is a Singaporean, although it said he's a hardcore criminal wanted in Singapore for committing several armed robberies.

This is not the first case of cross-border crime in JB. According to an earlier posting, there were many other fugitives in Singapore who had fled to neighbouring Malaysia such as Singaporean one-eyed dragon Tan Chor Jin and Malaysian Took Leng How in the Huang Na case. They were eventually tracked down by police in the two countries and brought to justice in Singapore.

But the latest kidnapping case in JB is probably eclipsed by the beginning of the sensational case in Kuala Lumpur -- the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu (pix from Guang Ming daily via ST).

The Malaysia press have been working overtime to report the case. Please see The Star, which has posted plenty of pix and video clips of the trial.

Defence analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and two other special action force policemen have been accused of the gruesome murder -- she was shot twice in the head before she was blown to bits by C4 explosives. Razak Baginda has acknowledged having an eight-month extramarital affair with Shaariibuu from late 2004.

Many reports have also said that Razak Baginda is a close associate of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has vehemently denied any involvement in the case.

The Mongolian model case will definitely continue to hog the headlines.