KEPALA BATAS: A man high on drugs barricaded himself and his family inside a room, while wielding a 54-centimetre machete at Jalan Pokok Sena, on Saturday night.
In the 7.30pm incident, the 46-year-old man told his 45-year-old wife and two children – aged 4 and 12 – to go into the room located on the first floor of their house.
Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Assistant Commissioner Noorzainy Mohd Noor said once they were in the room, the man locked the door and switched off the light before switching on a radio.
"After a while, his wife tried to persuade him to let her out as she had to go to the bathroom. The man unlocked the door and allowed his wife and eldest child to leave the room while following them from behind.
"But the two managed to escape and sought help from a relative who lives next door, as they feared for the safety of the youngest child who was still inside the room," Noorzainy said in a statement today.
Upon receiving a distress call on the incident, he said police immediately deployed a team to the scene and arrested the man.
"The man's wife, who works as a kindergarten assistant, said this was the first time her husband had acted in such a manner since they married 18 years ago.
"She also said that during the incident, her husband neither threatened nor hurt anyone. But, she was still worried that her husband, who was holding the machete, would go out of control," Noorzainy said, adding that his urine test returned a positive result for syabu.
The man was detained under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.
