SANDAKAN: A couple lost RM93,000 cash after their four-wheel-drive vehicle was broken into while they were having lunch at a restaurant opposite Wisma Khoo here on Monday afternoon.
According to District Crime Officer DSP Mohd Izaan Abdullah, the couple had just cashed RM90,000 worth of cheques from RHB Bank in Wisma Khoo and kept the money inside the wife’s purse in their car.
The couple, both in their 40s, had parked at the roadside not far from Wisma Khoo, and walked to a restaurant nearby to have their lunch. When they returned to their car around 1.10pm, they found the side window of the car’s back door had been broken and the purse missing.
The purse reportedly contained RM90,000 cash that they had just cashed out and another RM3,000 from their savings. Also missing from the car were their children’s identification documents.
DSP Mohd Izaan said car break-in cases happened fairly frequently in Sandakan regardless of whether it was during day or night.
“I would like to remind the people in Sandakan to be extra careful not to leave any valuable items in their vehicles, especially bags to avoid unwanted attention,” he said.
He also advised the public to take precautionary measures like parking their car in a safe place.
The case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft, which is punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years and liable to a fine or whipping, upon conviction.