30 kindergarden children in Malaysia held hostages by mentally-deranged hammer-wielding man & The 4 infamous hostages incidents in Malaysia

Cases of a large number of children being held hostages are very rare occurances in Malaysia.

Infact as far as my memory serves me, no children hostages situation has ever occured in Malaysia in modern times.

Infact to the best of my memory, there are 4 most infamous hostages situations that happened in Malaysia in the past years, and none of them involved children.

The 4 infamous hostages incidents that shook the world that ever happened in Malaysia were :



Case 1. July 2nd, 2000 > The Al Maunah terrorist group who stole huge cache of military firearms weaponry including 97 M16 assault rifles, two Steyr AUG rifles, four General Purpose Machine Guns or GPMGs, six light machine guns or LMG, five grenade launchers and 9,095 rounds of 5.56mm and 60 rounds of 40mm ammunitions and barricaded themselves at Bukit Jenalek, Sauk, Perak.

The group held 4 people hostages including 2 police personnels Sergeant Mohd Shah Ahmad and Detective Corporal Sanghadevan, a civilian Jaafar Puteh and an army personnel, Trooper Matthews anak Medan. In the end, Sagadevan and Matthews were slain by the terrorist.

Al Maunah leader, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, was sentenced to death and hanged at the Sungai Buloh prison in Selangor on August 4, 2006. His 3 right hand-men, Zahit Muslim, Jamaluddin Darus, and Jemari Jusoh were hanged a week earlier. 16 other members of the militant group were given life sentences.





Case 2. The twin incidents that shocked the world, happened off the east coast of Sabah, near the Philippines border. The militant group based in Southern Philippines, Abu Sayyaf double kidnappings of hostages off Sipadan Island, Sabah on April 2000 and Pandanan Island, Sabah in September 2000.

In the April 2000, Sipadan kidnapping, the Abu Sayyaf guerillas led by Commander Robot aka Ghalib Andang and Mujib Susukan, took 21 hostages, including 10 foreign tourists from France, South Africa, Germany, Finland and Lebanon and 9 Malaysian resort workers, a policeman and a Filipino dive master, Rolland Ullah aka Rambo.

The hostages were taken to an Abu Sayyaf base in Jolo, Southern Philippines by boats. After months of negotiations and playing cat and mouse games with the Philippines military, The Abu Sayyaf released all hostages in stages after ransoms payments were made including by the Libyan government.

The last remaining hostage, Rolland Ullah was only released / freed in 2003.

Among the Malaysians hostages were Divemasters Fong Kin Yen, Sabah wildlife rangers Balakrishnan Nair, Basilius Jim, Zulkarnain and Francis Masangkim.

In the Pandanan island kidnapping, 3 other Malaysians were kidnapped indlucing one mr George and one Mr Jongkinoh and a Chinese guy, but eventually rescued by the Philippines military. After that most of the Abu Sayyaf hierachy were annihilated by combined, air, sea and land assaults by the Philippines Armed Forces.





Case 3. The Pudu Jail hostage incident, Kuala Lumpur - Jimmy Chua, real name Chua Chap Seng, was a Singaporean crime ringleader and a former member of the Singaporean police force. He was thrown into Pudu Prison in Kuala Lumpur for murdering police constable Mohd Yasin Ismail in 1984.

On 17 October 1986, Jimmy and his six henchmen took 2 people hostages. They were known as skin specialist Dr Radzi bin Jaafar and medical technologist Abdul Aziz Abdul Majid who were on duty inside the prison at that material time.

The ordeal was over after 5 days. On 22 October 1986, the 2 hostages were rescued and Jimmy Chua and his gangs were captured. The whole operation was over without even a single gun shot being fired. The lightning quick police special forces stormed the prison while Jimmy was sleeping and captured them in a surprise attack.

Jimmy and his gang were sentenced to death under Section 3 (1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961 that carries a maximum death penalty upon conviction. They were hung inside Pudu Prison on 10 October 1989.





Case 4 > On 5th August 1975, a terrorist group, the Japanese Red Army, JRA stormed the American International Insurance, AIA building in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur and took 53 people hostages for 3 days or 79 hours to be exact. The hostages included the United States consul and the Swedish chargé d'affaires.

The JRA gunmen demanded and won the release of five imprisoned comrades who were jailed in Japan. The gunmen released all hostages and then flew with their freed comrades to Libya, into the safe hands of Moammar Gaddafi.


Now the latest hostages situation in Malaysia happened today Thursday, 7th July, 2011 and no militant elements were involved.

The kidnapper happened to be a drug addict.



Malaysians were jolted by the shocking news of 30 kindergarden children and 4 teachers at Pusat Jagaan Serikids, in Muar, Johor, being held hostage since morning 7th July 2011 by a mentally deranged drug addict man, armed with a hammer and a "parang" or a large knife.

That unexpected incident happened at approximately 9.30am Thursday, 7th July 2011.

The hostage taker initially told police negotiators to give him a gun or he would kill the kids.

However, after local psychiatrist Dr Lau Keen Lee spoke to the man from outside of the double-storey bungalow, he appeared to calm down.

"He is hungry now and wants some food," Dr Lau said, adding that the man and the children were on the second floor.

While someone went to get the food, two Special Actions Forces (UTK) trucks rolled into the compound.

Meanwhile, Muar traffic police chief ASP Suhaimi Ahmad told anxious parents and members of the media to wait outside the compound of the bungalow.

He said that too many people milling about the compound might spook the man.

Meanwhile, UTK blocked the road leading to Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak Serikids at around 2pm.

Crowds of people have gathered around the road. The suspect has locked all the doors of the bungalow.

Two ambulances are on standby outside the kindergarten.

Police officers have been negotiating with the suspect for hours.

There are still no reports of any children being harm or injured. The police have barricaded the area.

According to the Star online, at 3.45pm, police shot teargas into the compound and entered the building.

In the end, Malaysian police freed all the 30 kindergarten children and four teachers.

State deputy police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman told reporters that the man was in critical condition after he was hit by a single shot in the head.

At 9.15 pm, the man was declared dead.

"All the 30 children, aged between three and five years, and their four teachers are safe," he said, adding that they were sent to the hospital for a check up.

The identity of the hostage taker and his motive remains uknown at this moment but the police is expected to give an official statement, soon.

Pity those kids aged between 3 to 5 years old and those teachers who had to endure that frightening and terrifying moments for 6 hours.

They should be treated by child psychiatrists in order to forget those harrowing moments.

Congratulations to the Malaysian Police too for their swift action and in ensuring the safety of those kids.

7 Hong Kong Tourists killed by Lone Bus Hijacker in Manila, Phillipinnes

Here Mendoza was seen freeing a number of hostages including an eldery man, children and eldery women. The sharpshooters of the Phillippines SWAT team had golden opportunity to end the siege without loss of lives among the hostages had they took advantage of the situation where Mendoza was standing on the doorstep of the ill-fated bus - with his M16 hanging down..



The Shootout.... Pity the innocent passengers/tourists



The tragic aftermath....


It was a sad day for those Hong Kong tourists. They were looking for a good time in Manila, Phillipinnes but instead experienced the most harrowing moments in their life.

This shows that kidnapping in the Phillipinnes not only happened in the jungles of Basilan and Jolo by the Abu Sayyaf or other pure lawless elements - but also in the middle of Manila's concrete jungles.

The Phillippines SWAT is also not good and not professional in rescuing the hostages - they fires indiscriminately, it is possible that some hostages died not because of the kidnapper's bullets but due to the SWAT team own bullets.

This firing indiscriminately while on a hostage rescuing mission also happened during the Abu Sayyaf hostages crisis in 2000 and 2001. According to the hostages, the Phillipinnes army, fired at random - endangering the life of the hostages!! They should follow USA's SWAT Special Weapons and Tacticals Teams - who will never fire blindly, but will deploy the highly trained sniper teams - capable of firing accurately on small moving targets from a distance of 1 kilometre!!!

Ten things the Philippines bus siege police got wrong

BBC the British Broadcasting Corporation reported that a security analyst, Charles Shoebridge who has worked in counter-terrorism with the British Army and Scotland gave his opinions on that tragic crisis.

Shoebridge said the officers involved in Manila's bus siege showed great courage - but they were not properly trained or equipped for the task.

Here are 10 areas where, in his view, they could have done better.

1. Determination

The first officers who tried to storm the bus were driven out by gunshots from the hostage taker, former policeman Rolando Mendoza. "They showed great courage to go on board. It's very crowded, just one aisle down the middle of the bus. But once you get on board it's not unexpected you are going to be fired at. Squads like this have to be made up of very special people, specially trained and selected for their characteristics of courage, determination and aggression. In this case they acted as 99% of the population would have, which was to turn round and get out. They didn't seem to have the necessary determination and aggression to follow the attack through."

2. Lack of equipment

The police spent a long time smashing the windows of the bus, whereas explosive charges (known as frame charges) would have knocked in windows and doors instantly. "They had no ladders to get through the windows. They smashed the windows but didn't know what to do next," Mr Shoebridge says. "They almost looked like a group of vandals." Their firearms were also inappropriate - some had pistols, some had assault rifles. Ideally they would have carried a short submachine gun, suitable for use in confined spaces.

3. Lost opportunity to disarm the gunman

Mendoza's gun was not always raised. There were numerous opportunities to restrain the gunman, Mr Shoebridge believes. "The negotiators were so close to him, and he had his weapon hanging down by his side. He could have been disabled without having to kill him."

4. Lost opportunity to shoot the gunman


The video of the drama also shows there were occasions when the gunman was standing alone, during the course of the day, and could have been shot by a sharpshooter. "You are dealing with an unpredictable and irrational individual. The rule should be that if in the course of negotiations an opportunity arises to end the situation decisively, it should be taken," Mr Shoebridge says. Either this possibility did not occur to the officers in charge, he adds, or they considered it and decided to carry on talking.

5. Satisfying the gunman's demands

"I wondered why the authorities just didn't give in to all of his demands," says Charles Shoebridge. "A promise extracted under force is not a promise that you are required to honour. Nobody wants to give in to the demands of terrorists, but in a situation like this, which did not involve a terrorist group, or release of prisoners, they could have just accepted his demands.

He could be reinstated in the police - and then be immediately put in prison for life for hostage taking." The Philippines authorities did in fact give in to the gunman's demands, but too little, too late. One message promised to review his case, while he wanted it formally dismissed. A second message reinstating him as a police officer only arrived after the shooting had started.

6. Televised proceedings

The gunman was able to follow events on television, revealing to him everything that was going on around him. This was a "crucial defect in the police handling", Mr Shoebridge says. He adds that police should always consider putting a barrier or screen around the area, to shield the scene from the cameras and keep the hostage taker in the dark.

7. No element of surprise

It was clear to the gunman what the police were doing at all times, not only because the whole incident was televised, but also because they moved "laboriously slowly", Mr Shoebridge says. The police did not distract him, so were unable to exploit the "crucial element of surprise".

8. Safeguarding the public

This boy, a bystander, was hit by a stray bullet At least one bystander was shot, possibly because the public was allowed too close. The bullet from an M16 rifle, as carried by the gunman, can travel for about a mile, so preventing any risk of injury would have been difficult, Mr Shoebridge says, but a lot more could have been done. "When you saw the camera view from above, it was clear there was little command and control of the public on the ground," he says.

9. Using the gunman's brother to negotiate

Relatives and close friends can be a double-edged sword, Mr Shoebridge says. While they may have leverage over the hostage taker, what they are saying cannot be easily controlled. In this case, the gunman's brother was included in the negotiations - however, at a certain stage he became agitated and police started to remove him from the scene. The gunman saw this on television, and became agitated himself. According to one report he fired a warning shot.

10. Insufficient training

In some parts of the Philippines, such as Mindanao, hostage taking is not an uncommon occurrence, so the country has some forces that are well trained in the necessary tactics. The detachment involved in Monday's incident clearly was not, says Mr Shoebridge. After smashing the windows, one of the officers eventually put some CS gas inside, though "to what effect was not clear" he says. A unit involved in this work, needs to be "trained again and again, repeatedly practising precisely this kind of scenario," he says.


On Tuesday 23rd August 2010, Phillipinnes security forces stormed a bus packed with Hong Kong tourists to end a dramatic hostage crisis that unfolded live on global television, leaving eight people and the gunman dead.

The day-long ordeal on Monday 22 August 2010, began when a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16 assault rifle and dressed in combat pants hijacked the bus in Manila's tourist district in a desperate bid to get his job back.

Negotiations broke down after nightfall when the gunman, former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza, began shooting and commandos were forced to storm the bus, firing dozens of bullets of their own into the vehicle. 'I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop,' Mendoza told a local radio station as the police assault was about to get under way.

Police said a sniper shot Mendoza dead after he used his captives as 'human shields' in the final moments of the 12-hour standoff.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said eight tourists were confirmed killed, while the Red Cross reported another seven were in hospital with unspecified injuries. Nine hostages, including children, were freed at various times throughout the day from the bus that was parked at Rizal Park, a popular tourist destination just a few blocks from police headquarters.

The Filipino bus driver jumped out of a window and escaped moments before police stormed the vehicle, with his escape and the rest of the crisis broadcast live on television.

China condemns Manila hijack

As expected, CHINA on Tuesday strongly condemned a Philippine bus hijacking that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead as an 'atrocity', and urged Manila to ensure Chinese citizens are safe.

The Chinese embassy said: 'The Chinese government strongly condemns the atrocity by the hostage-taker, expresses grave condolences to the victimised Hong Kong compatriots and conveys profound sympathy to the bereaved families.'

'The Chinese side has urged the Philippine side to take concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of the Chinese citizens in the Philippines,' it said in a statement.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said early on Tuesday that he has sent an apology to Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang for what had happened, adding that he has ordered the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to extend all possible assistance to the victims.

The president made the remarks at a press conference after meeting with police officials and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, reported Xinhua news agency.

Philippine hostage crisis ended here on Monday night with eight hostages were killed, seven injured, one of whom is in critical conditions, Philippine government officials said.