KUCHING: An apologetic car thief was apprehended at a budget hotel at Mile 3 early yesterday after he was caught trying to steal a company’s four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle.
The incident occurred around midnight when the driver of the 4WD vehicle, who was putting up for the night at the hotel, heard its alarm go off and rushed down from his room on the second floor to check.
Upon opening the driver’s door, he was shocked to see a stranger inside the vehicle with a spanner in his hand.
He grabbed hold of the perpetrator who apologised to his captor for trying to steal the car, and offered him RM500 as compensation for the damage caused by his attempts to jumpstart the vehicle.
The offer was rebuffed and the suspect handed over to the police.
In a separate case, police arrested the owner of a recycling facility near Kota Padawan after finding two containers filled with stolen items on Monday night.
The 32-year-old owner was detained by a team from state police headquarters following a tip-off after they came across the containers filled with stolen cables, steel components and batteries used to power telecommunication towers.
Sources said the suspect who could have purchased the items stolen from areas in Petra Jaya, Gita and Matang was being held to facilitate investigation.