KOTA KINABALU: Police have arrested a local man over numerous theft cases, including a rented vehicle break-in.
Deputy city police chief Superintendent M. Chandra said the 34-year-old suspect was arrested in Kampung Peringatan in Petagas on Monday, 10 days after the incident happened.
“The victim, a 33-year-old tourist from Denmark, claimed that he lost two laptops, a pair of shoes and a passport with total losses amounting to RM5,000, after his rented car was broken into between 9.30pm to 10.30pm on Feb 3.
“Acting on the police report and continuous investigation, police arrested the suspect in Kampung Peringatan where they also found and seized two handphones, a pawn receipt, a couple of pen-drives and a couple of ATM bank cards.
“Following the arrest, police then raided a house in Kampung Likas where they recovered the two laptops believed to be belonging to the tourist,” he told a press conference at the city police headquarters in Karamunsing here yesterday.
Chandra said initial police investigation showed the tourist had parked the rented car in front of a hotel in the city centre on the day of the incident.
“After coming back from dinner at the waterfront, the tourist found that the window of the rented car had been broken,” he said, adding that the man immediately lodged a police report.
Chandra said the case would be investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft.
In an unrelated case, police detained a foreign man for selling VCDs and DVDs without the B Licence.
Chandra said the arrest was made in front of the Filipino Market in Sinsuran on Feb 12 around 5am.
“Police confiscated 745 copies of VCDs and DVDs from the 24-year-old suspect where the case will be investigated under Section 18 (4) (a) of the Film Censorship Act 2002,” he said, adding that under the provision, it carries a fine of between RM5,000 and RM30,000 or a jail term of up to three years, or both on conviction.