KENINGAU: Police here believe they have solved several vehicle thefts reported in February this year with the arrest of seven people, including two men believed to buyers of the stolen vehicles, in the town here.
District police chief DSP Robert Salisip @ David disclosed yesterday that three of the suspects are foreigners, aged between 22 and 25 years, while the two others, aged 30 and 35 years, are locals. They have been detained for further investigation.
“Two locals believed to be buyers of the stolen vehicles have also been detained for further investigation,” he said at a press conference at the district police headquarters here yesterday.
Robert said the two locals suspected of involvement in the case was a salesman from a village here and a mechanic from Bingkor. The three foreign suspects, who do not have any documents and are jobless, come from Kampung Baru, Durok and Kampung Sayur Limbawan near here.
The vehicles that were recovered and seized by the police are a black Toyota Hilux Vigo 2.5, a silver Isuzu D Max and a white Isuzu D Max bearing plate number SAA9743.
Robert said based on reports lodged with the police by a 32-year-old man on February 24 this year about 12.30pm, the complainant had lost his car at the parking lot here.
“The complainant said he was approached by five unidentified men while he was resting in the vehicle after becoming dizzy from drinking in a karaoke lounge. The suspects entered the vehicle and pushed the complainant to one side while another suspect seized the vehicle keys from him, started the engine and drove the vehicle away,” he said.
According to Robert, the complainant reported being punched in the face and had a knife held to his neck. The suspects told him to keep quiet and when they arrived at Kampung Magatang, he was pulled out of the vehicle and stamped on stomach by the suspects.
The suspects then left him and went off with the vehicle, taking along with them his mobile phone, wallet containing his MyKad, bank card, driving license and RM150 cash. The complainant also lost important documents such as passports, bank books and land titles and a bunch of house keys of his friend that were in the vehicle.
“Acting on the report, a team of police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department arrested a foreign suspect at a food court here about 7.10pm on May 16 this year.
“From information obtained by a CID detective member through interrogation, another foreigner suspect was arrested on the same day about 8.15pm at the first floor of a restaurant here by a team of police officers,” he said.
Subsequently, Robert said from information gathered through interrogation of the suspects, another foreign suspect was detained on May 17 at about 9.35am at a workshop at Jalan Nabawan here.
On the same day (May 17) at 10am at a vehicle showroom along Tenom road, a local suspect, believed to be working as a salesman, was arrested for involvement in the vehicle theft. Then on May 23 at about 2.30pm at a workshop in Bingkor, a team of police arrested another suspect who worked as a mechanic.
“The two locals who bought the two stolen vehicles were held on May 23 at 4pm and 5pm in Tenom and Keningau respectively. Both vehicles, a silver Isuzu D Max and a white Isuzu D Max, were seized by the police,” he said.
The five suspects are being investigated under Section 395/397 of the Penal Code which upon conviction can send them to jail for 20 years and whipped. For the two suspects who bought the stolen vehicles, they are being investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code and if convicted can be imprisoned between one to seven years and fined.