KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: After being held captive for two months by loan sharks for failing to settle their debts, three men were rescued by police from a shoplot here in Seri Kembangan.

The victims aged 25, 34 and 49 years, were abducted from Segambut, Semenyih and Gombak when they were not able to settle their debts of between RM1,500 and RM4,000 each.

They were found chained by the neck and legs and showing signs of having been beaten by their captors.

Gombak police chief Asst Comm Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the three were rescued after police nabbed two loan sharks at 11am yesterday in Kepong.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team nabbed the loan sharks aged 30 and 33 years outside a bank in Desa Jaya.

The two then led police to the shoplot in Taman Bukit Serdang where the victims were confined.

"We found the three victims in two rooms on the ground floor where they were handcuffed, legs tied with chains and gagged.

"Initial investigation showed that the victims were repeatedly assaulted and beaten by their captors using a cane. They were not allowed change of clothes and were fed only a loaf of bread every two weeks" he said at the scene.

ACP Abdul Rahim said the victims each owed between RM1,500 to RM4,000 to the loan sharks, who had contacted their respective families demanding repayment in return for their release.

"The modus operandi of the loan sharks is that they would coax debtors to meet them for a discussion regarding the money they owed and then abduct them.

"The loan sharks would later contact the debtor's family demanding payment and will continue to confine the victim until the debt is fully paid up," he added.

-The Star/Asia New Network