Thieving mechanic caught with customer’s car

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The suspect looks on as police personnel search the car allegedly used during the robberies.

KUCHING: A mechanic from Taman Sukma was arrested by police on Friday night on suspicion of committing back-to-back robberies at Chonglin Park two days earlier.

The 26-year-old, who operates an auto workshop with his elder brother at their house, was picked up around 8.30pm by a task force team from district police headquarters following an investigation into the double robberies.

Police made a breakthrough in the case after one of the victims was able to provide a description of the car – a maroon Proton Saga – as well as its licence plate number.

The car was found to belong to a customer who had sent it to the suspect’s workshop a week earlier to have it re-sprayed, but was instead used by the latter to commit the crimes.

The double robberies which were reported in The Borneo Post on Friday, took place at Chonglin Park commercial centre between 4am and 4.15am.

A security guard watching over a temple across the road initially spotted two men trying to steal batteries from a lorry parked at the commercial centre, and rushed over to stop them.

He was kayoed with a metal bar on the head with and robbed of his mobile phone and wallet.

Immediately following the incident, the suspects allegedly prowled the area and then robbed an Indonesian housewife of her handbag after threatening her with a sharp weapon.

Police are currently tracking down the suspect’s accomplice, said to be his friend, and have detained him in lock-up pending further investigation.