Lautoka businessman Imtiaz Shaukat Ali said yesterday he was ready to put his life on the line to save his wife and two children from eight men.

Recounting the harrowing experience,  Mr Ali, 40,  said they drove their Toyota Prado to Hari Lal Investments shop at Kashmir, Lautoka, to buy a phone recharge card.

While he was in the shop, he heard his wife screaming out his name. He rushed back to the car and stopped the men dead in their tracks from driving off with his wife, Shahina Nazmeen Hussein, 25, and their children Umair Imtiaz Ali, two and a half years and 15 months old daughter Umairah Shamshad Begum.

He was punched, bloodied and badly bruised in the process but he said: “At that time, I did not care about money, vehicle or my life –my wife and children were all that mattered and I was going to fight for them.”

Mr Ali has come out for the first time to reveal what happened after footage from a CCTV camera has gone viral on social media.

Mr Ali said he had left home last Thursday to pick someone up without any inkling of what was about to unfold in front of them.

“We had gone to my mum’s house in Waiyavi and left there at around 7.20pm to pick my wife’s sister who had come from New Zealand and was in Kashmir visiting her relatives,” Mr Ali said.

“I came past the house my sister in law was in and drove up to the shop, about 500 metres away to buy a recharge card.

“I went into the shop and minutes later, I heard my wife yelling my name.”

Mrs Ali was sitting in the front seat with their daughter while the son was asleep on the back seat.

“When I went outside, one was in the driver’s seat and the rest in the back.”

Mr Ali said he ran around to the driver’s side and was trying to drag the driver out.”

“While trying to pull the driver out, he was attacked by two of the men and had blood streaming from his nose and mouth.”

Mrs Ali said she was looking on the other side of the vehicle and when the back door opened and a hand covered her mouth, she thought it was a family member playing a trick on her.

“But when I saw another jumped into the driver’s seat, I was terrified and knew it was not a joke,” she said.

“He was trying to move the vehicle but I think he was finding it hard to move it.

“Two more men then jumped into the back seat and sat on my son who was still sleeping and one grabbed her mouth from the back.”

As another person got in, he accidently bumped the one blocking Mrs Ali’s mouth and as his hand slipped, it was enough time for her to yell out her husband’s name.

Mrs Ali said when she finally managed to free herself her husband was being assaulted and she jumped out clutching her daughter.

She said by this time there were about eight men in the vehicle.

The couple then realised their son was still asleep in the vehicle as it was moving off and as it went further in front, they saw their son being dumped onto the road.

“He woke up and looked around, probably in shock,” Mrs Ali said.

Mr Ali said the vehicle drover down the road about 300 metres and picked another two men up.

Police later found the vehicle, a Toyota Prado, abandoned in Saru near the water treatment plant.

“If my husband did not come to our rescue, I don’t know what they would have done to me and the children,” Mrs Ali said.

One of the most disturbing things to come out of the incident was that onlookers failed to help Mr Ali.

Police later found the vehicle abandoned in Saru near the water treatment plant.

“If my husband did not come to our rescue, I don’t know what they would have done to me and the children,” Mrs Ali said.

Police said they were investigating the incident.

“A team has been tasked to identify those seen in the footage and anyone who may have information that could assist our investigators is requested to call Crime Stoppers on 919.”

Edited by Nemani Delaibatiki

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