JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA - Four loan sharks were nabbed by the police while another escaped after they detained a furniture shop owner and demanded payment for a loan.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 31, detained the 32-year-old man at Taman Tan Sri Yaakob here at 2.30pm on Friday and demanded RM5,000 for a previous loan.

The victim's wife met the suspects and her husband at a bank in Nusajaya at 5pm and paid them the money.

However, policemen who were alerted earlier, arrived at the scene and managed to detain one suspect, while the others escaped in a car, ramming a police patrol vehicle in the process.

A high-speed chase ensued and after 15 minutes, police managed to corner the suspects at a dead-end in Kampung Sg Danga.

When the loan sharks resisted arrest, police opened fire, hitting one suspect in the leg.

Johor deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm I Datuk Jalaluddin Ab Rahman said police detained the injured suspect and two others, while another managed to escape into a nearby forest.

'The injured suspect was sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment.

'We have remanded the suspects until Aug 1 for investigations,' he said, adding that the case had been classified under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder and Section 385 of the same Code for extortion.

SAC Jalaluddin said a manhunt for the escaped suspect has been launched.