A father and his 2 children were held hostage for several hours at their home in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Ternat while their mother was kidnapped and driven to Brussels where she was forced to open a safety deposit box at a branch of the ING bank in the municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. The Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s officers has confirmed that the so-called “tiger kidnapping” took place and that 2 of the 3 suspected kidnappers have been apprehended.
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Flemish Brabant family held hostage for hours while kidnappers force mother to open safety deposit bank at bank
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On Wednesday morning, 3 masked and armed men broke into the home of a family in Ternat. At the time, the father of the family was not at home as he was taking 2 of his 4 children somewhere. His wife and his 2 other children were at the house though and when the man, whose name is Khammal, returned home at around 7.50am he too was overpowered by the three criminals that had invaded his home. He told VRT News that “When I arrived I was threatened straight away. I was forced to lie down on the ground and I was hit on the head with a gun. My wrists were tied together with straps. My wife and my 2 children were also threatened."
Khammal was locked up in one of the bedrooms along with his 2 children. They were guarded by 1 of the criminals, while the other 2 other members of the gang went with Khammal's wife to a branch of the ING bank in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek where she was forced to open a safety deposit box. “My wife works in banking. In her company car and with one of the criminals beside her, she had to drive to a branch of her bank in the Ossegem area of Molenbeek. The second criminal took my Audi to follow them."
Once at bank, Khammal's wife was instructed to open a safety deposit box. "In order to obtain the code of the safety deposit box, she had to call Brink's. Fortunately, she was then able to alert a colleague and tell him that her family was being held hostage at home. Her boss was notified, and she was told to hand over the money from the safe."
2 suspects apprehended and detained
The police were able to apprehend two suspects shortly after handing over the money. The Halle-Vilvoorde public prosecutor’s office told VRT News that “They are 2 men aged 38 and 45. Both have already appeared before an examining magistrate and have been formally arrested."
Police also raided the family's home to free Khammal and his two children. “The man that took me and my 2 children hostage had already fled. He took jewelry, watches and cash with him.” The search continues to find the third suspect.