A Bahraini student held hostage for 18 days in Malaysia is still coming to terms with his experience and could require counselling to put the ordeal behind him, according to his father.

Bahraini Ali Ahmed Al Nashaba, 20, received a huge welcome from family and friends when he returned to Bahrain on February 19 shortly after his release from captivity.

However, his father Ahmed Al Nashaba told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication, that since coming home Ali had found it difficult to move on from the "nightmare" he went through and was unwilling to discuss it with the media.

"Ali told us it was a nightmare for him and he is still scared and starts shivering while talking about it," said Al Nashaba.

"He said he was blindfolded and kept in a dark room, guarded by one man he didn't even see.

"He was beaten by the kidnappers every day and he still has marks on his arms and legs.

"Ali is still in deep shock and feeling hopeless. He behaves oddly and needs to undergo treatment or counselling to get over this. We are trying everything possible to make him feel better, be happy and get back to normal life," he stated.

However, despite trying to make his son feel better by giving him money to go shopping for new clothes and paying for driving lessons, Al Nashaba said it would be some time before he was able to move on.

"I think if he starts going out with friends, he may feel better," he said.

Al Nashaba revealed he had spent almost BD8,000 ($21,098) for his son to complete two years of studies in Malaysia, which was cut short by his kidnapping.

There are no plans for him to return to Malaysia and the family now hopes that he will be accepted at Bahrain University to complete his education.

"We don't want to send him back (to Malaysia) because we fear this could happen again, it's risky," said Al Nashaba.

"Ali doesn't want to go back to Malaysia. We want him to stay in Bahrain and get admission to Bahrain University to finish his course."

The electrical engineering student was snatched from the campus of Linton University, Kuala Lumpur, on January 28 and his family was initially given 24 hours to pay 20,000 Malaysian ringgit (around BD2,260) to his abductors - who threatened to chop his fingers off.

His captors later increased their demand to BD3,000, but he was eventually freed on February 14 after a search was launched by the Royal Malaysian Police in co-ordination with Bahrain's Foreign Ministry.

Two Bahrainis are among six people arrested in connection with his kidnapping.-TradeArabia News Service