Homer Simpson kidnapped in M’sia

This is an AFP report, based on what NST carried today. Read and have fun.

"D'oh! Thieves drove off with a life-size statue of television cartoon star Homer Simpson poking out of their getaway car, the Motion Picture Association said Thursday.

The theft, under cover of darkness early Monday, took place outside a cinema in a suburban Kuala Lumpur shopping centre, said Nor Hayati Yahaya, Malaysia's director of the association.

Hayati expressed surprise at the brazen act, which was captured on several closed-circuit TV monitors. Pictures show two men lugging away the bulky Homer, who then protruded from the boot of the getaway car.

"There is CCTV everywhere in the shopping centre and the worst part is they couldn't close the bonnet because Homer is too big," Hayati told AFP.

She said cameras also captured the not-too-smart thieves' car licence plate number.

"We can trace the suspects," she said, confident of Homer's return.

Homer was part of a display with statues of other Simpsons family members promoting the July 26 local release of The Simpsons Movie, Hayati said.

She said 20th Century Fox's Malaysia studio had offered a reward of 1,000 ringgit (292 dollars) for Homer's safe return.

"It's not a publicity stunt," she said, adding a police report had been filed."

[And the picture is courtesy of NST too.]

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The culprits have been found and Homer saved! Read here.