The victim of a bizarre "copycat" drug-debt abduction was bound with cable ties and bashed by a pole to the head before fleeing into cane fields, police say.
The 32-year-old woman, who suffered a fractured skull, was assaulted in her Cairns home on Thursday night, before being driven to a park in another suburb.
There, police allege, a large group of people interrupted the attack which allowed the woman to escape from the car, run into fields and across train tracks.
A known drug user, she then continued on to a nearby Chinese restaurant, where she raised the alarm about half an hour after she was abducted.
Detective Inspector Geoff Marsh says the woman, who is in hospital with fractures to her skull and eye socket, has been talking to police and knows her attackers.
He says the case has no links to a similar incident at the weekend, in which a Cairns man was allegedly stabbed, tied to a tree and left for dead in bushland.
"The term 'copycat' comes to mind," he said.
"When we see incidents of this nature, which are unusual, it can often cause other people to commit similar acts."
Four people, including a 17-year-old girl, are being questioned over the attack.
Police say the woman was likely hit to the front of the head with a metal pole or hard plastic bat after the attackers entered her home.
It's alleged electrical tape was also used to restrain her.
Det Insp Marsh says it's lucky neither of the week's drug-related abductions ended in tragedy.
He urged people to contact police if they found themselves owing property or money over criminal activities.
"We don't want to see this become a common occurrence," he said.
"We can afford you the assistance and security you require so these events (further abductions) don't happen." It's understood about 20 witnesses are co-operating with police over Thursday's incident.
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