KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Police today detained a foreign domestic worker previously employed by the family of a 20-month-old British toddler who was abducted from his home in the Bangsar suburb here.

City Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief SAC Datuk Ku Chin Wah said the 39-year-old suspect, a Filipina, was detained with her boyfriend, a 53-year-old local man, during a raid on a flat in Taman Desa at 11am this morning.

“We have strong reason to believe that they can either directly or indirectly help the case,” he said at a press conference here.

Police have been on the hunt for at least two suspects believed to be involved in the kidnapping of the toddler, Freddie Joseph, who was snatched from the compound of his home by a man and a woman driving a white Toyota Camry at 6pm on Friday.

A passer-by later found Freddie, who was left standing by the side of the road alone at Taman Titiwangsa, at around 1.20pm yesterday, less than 24 hours after his kidnap.

The toddler had no visible signs of injury when discovered, and has since been reunited with his mother, Sarah Joseph.

Ku said today that they are hoping that the female suspect, who was employed by Joseph until six months ago, can shed some light on the case.

“She had worked with the victim for about a year... but at this point we can’t say that it is this woman, and we can’t say it is this man,” he said, when asked if they could be the two kidnappers.

Ku added that the man did not fit the description of the male kidnapper, who had slashed Joseph with a machete when she attempted to fight him off during the evening incident.

The senior officer noted that the manhunt for the suspected abductor was ongoing, and hinted at the possibility that there could be more than two people involved in the case.

“At this point it is still early, and we cannot confirm anything. We do have one or two reasons why they were detained,” he said of the Filipina and her boyfriend.

“We hope we can get a clearer picture after this,” he said, adding that the police will apply tomorrow at the Kuala Lumpur courts to remand the pair for 14 days under the Kidnapping Act 1961.

Police have issued a composite image of the male suspected kidnapper based on eyewitness accounts of the incident.

The male suspect is described as having a fair complexion with Chinese or Burmese features, and stands at around 5’6” tall.

Not much is known of his female accomplice, however, aside from claims that she had long black hair, as she was said to have remained in the car the whole time.

Friday’s abduction reminded the nation of the kidnapping of 12-year-old Dutch schoolboy Nayati Shamelin Moodliar last year.

The pre-teen was grabbed while walking to the Mont Kiara International School on April 27 last year and released six days later at the Sungai Buloh highway rest stop after his family paid a RM300,000 ransom.