A Bahraini student kidnapped in Malaysia was due to spend a second night in captivity yesterday, as police told his relatives not to pay a ransom demand.

Ali Ahmed Al Nashaba was snatched from his university campus in Kuala Lumpur by three men on January 28 morning, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

His parents were given 24 hours to pay 20,000 Malaysian ringgit ($5,992) to his abductors or they would chop his fingers off.

The Royal Malaysian Police, in co-ordination with Bahrain's Foreign Affairs Ministry, are searching for the 20-year-old and believe they are closing in on his captors.

It comes after his father Ahmed Al Nashaba earlier launched a heartfelt appeal to Bahraini and Malaysian authorities to find his son before he is harmed.

The kidnappers have issued threats to the family via the victim's cousin, who was his roommate at Linton University, where he was studying electrical engineering.

A Malaysian policewoman, who is involved in the case, confirmed the Bahraini's family had been asked not to send any money to his kidnappers.

"We have requested Al Nashaba's family not to send any money, as we believe we are close to catching the suspects," she told the GDN from Kuala Lumpur.

"We are co-ordinating with his cousin and roommate, who is also studying in the same university.

"The three kidnappers are not Malaysians but from India, Sudan and Iraq, according to Al Nashaba's cousin, who is dealing with them over the phone.

"We asked his friends if he rented a car or was involved with gangster groups or took a loan, but they denied this.

"We believe the kidnappers are not professionals but just ordinary people or students, who did this to get money.

"If they were professionals, they would have never asked for this amount."

The policewoman said, according to Al Nashaba's cousin, whenever he has spoken to him on the phone he sounded calm, which meant he had not been harmed.

"We are trying to locate the kidnappers, free the victim and bring the culprits to justice," she added.

Bahrain does not have an embassy in Malaysia so the country's diplomatic mission in Thailand is co-ordinating with authorities in Kuala Lumpur and the UAE Embassy, whose officials accompanied friends of the victim to the police station.

"The Bahrain Embassy in Thailand is sparing no efforts to follow up the case and settle the issue for the kidnapped student to be released," said Bahrain's Foreign Ministry.

Malaysian Ambassador Ahmed Shahizan Abdulsamad is also co-ordinating with authorities in Malaysia.

"I have contacted police and ministries to beef up security for all the foreign students studying in Malaysia," he told the GDN.

"I have also contacted duty officers and asked them to give me hourly reports about Al Nashaba.

"We have also requested Malaysian Foreign Ministry to keep us posted about this news."

Al Nashba's relatives in Bahrain said they were still unsure if he was safe or not.

"Police are in touch with us and we are depending on them to locate the abductors," they said. - TradeArabia News Service