PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: A 24-year-old clerk who was abducted by three men in front of her house early yesterday was released about eight hours later after her parents paid an RM6,000 ransom.

Woo Yen Yen, 24, was released unhurt after being abducted while she was opening the gate to enter her house in Taman Rawang Jaya at about 2.15am.

Her friend had driven her back home and was still waiting in the car to see Woo get inside when the incident happened.

Gombak deputy police chief Supt Abdul Karim Abu Hassan said while Woo was opening the gate, three men in a Proton Waja stopped in front of her house.

Two of them, armed with a parang and axe, got down and pulled Woo into their car, he added.

The man armed with the axe then smashed the windscreen of the car in which Woo's girlfriend was waiting.

The three men then sped off with Woo in their car.

Fifteen minutes later, one of the kidnappers called the victim's parents from a public phone booth and demanded RM6,000 for her release.

At 6am, the parents banked the cash into Woo's account at an ATM near their housing area.

The money was later withdrawn by the kidnappers at an ATM in Kajang.

Supt Abdul Karim said Woo was released at about 8am at a taxi stand in Cheras.

Woo Ming Kao, 47, said the abductors gave RM50 to his daughter as taxi-fare before releasing her.

He said an elderly man in the area lent her his mobile phone to call home after her release.