By Andrew Sagayam

She dumped him several weeks ago for another guy but he refused to accept it.

He tried to force her to return to him Friday - this time armed with a gun.

The 23-year-old jilted lover stormed into the 35-year old divorcee's hair salon in Taman Kosas Ampang at 9.30am after waiting in his car for more than an hour for her to arrive.

She ignored his pleas to return to him and a shouting match ensued during which he grabbed and assaulted her.

When two of her workers tried to come to her aid, he pulled out a Walther P99 semi-automatic pistol and fired three shots at the ceiling.

The man, who used to work as the salon's caretaker, held the woman hostage in the double-storey shoplot after the workers fled and called the police from a public phone booth nearby.

Police cordoned off the area and called the man through mobile phones left behind by the two workers.
During the two-hour stand off, two police officers continuosly coaxed him to surrender as a large crowd watched the high noon drama from outside.

"We told him to give himself up as the shoplot was surrounded by police and the best option for him was to surrender peacefully," said Ampang Jaya police chief Asst Comm Abdul Jalil Hassan.

The man finally released the woman and gave up at about 1.30pm.

ACP Abdul Jalil said the man told police that he had bought the pistol in Penang for RM20,000 on Wednesday.

Police have classified the case under Section 3 of the Firearms Act (Heavier Penalties) 1971 which carries the mandatory death sentence.