A novelist and his son sustained injuries after being slashed during an attempted robbery at his house in Taman Lavender Heights, Paroi, near here early Sunday.

Seremban district deputy police chief Abdul Rahim Daud said Ahmad Patria Abdullah, 48, the son of national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain, was watching television when three men armed with machete broke into his house at about 5.15am.

"Uponrealisingthe presence of the suspects, Ahmad Patria tried to chase them away and shoutedforhis wife to call the police but a scuffle ensued.

"The victim's son Abdullah Hasif, 16, was awakened by the noise and rushed in to help his father. The victimswere however, slashed with machete causing them to sustain injuries to their head and hands," he said in a statement.

Abdul Rahim said the suspects fled the scene when the victim's wife, who was in a room on the upper level of the house with their two children aged six and 10, activated the house alarm before calling the police.

He said initial investigations revealed that the three suspects broke into the house by cutting through the grill of a window. --Bernama