Theft suspect splashes acid on vigilante

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KUCHING: A man suffered burns to his face after he was splashed with an unknown liquid, believed to be   acid, while apprehending a co-worker  suspected of  theft  yesterday.Another co-worker was also injured after he was bitten on his left arm by the suspect during the incident at a scrap metal yard in Kota Sentosa.

According to the bitten man, the incident happened around noon when they received information that a fellow worker had stolen a quantity of iron and metal parts from a construction site at Mile 6 Penrissen Road and was heading to the scrap yard to sell the items.

He alleged that it was not the first time the person had been suspected of stealing from the site.

Together with another worker, the duo headed to the yard and arrived in time to see the suspect in the process of disposing of the stolen items.

As they apprehended him, the suspect was said to have put up a struggle and suddenly pulled out a bottle from his pocket before splashing its content on the face of one of his captors.

He was then subdued by the other two men but not before biting the arm of one of them.

The splash victim, whose details were not known, was sent to the hospital for treatment on his burnt face while the suspect was handed over to the police for further investigation.

In an unrelated incident, three teenagers were arrested shortly after they had snatched a handphone belonging to a teenage girl on Wednesday.

A fourth teen, believed to be an accomplice of the trio, surrendered himself to police after the 5.45pm incident.

According to the victim, she was talking on her handphone at the Old Courthouse Complex near India Street when a group of five boys walked past her from behind.

One of them suddenly snatched the phone from out of her hand, and together with the others, disappeared in the direction of Kuching Waterfront.

She sought the help of a member of the public to send her to the Tourist Police kiosk where she intended to lodge a report, but arrived to see the five teens strolling nonchalantly past the kiosk along the Waterfront.

She immediately alerted police personnel inside, and they managed to arrest three of the suspects while the other two managed to flee on foot.

The three suspects were then detained for questioning during which the stolen handset was recovered from one of them.

One of the suspects who initially escaped later showed up at the kiosk and surrendered himself to police.

All four, aged between 17 and 18, were sent to the lockup pending further investigation.

In a separate development, police nabbed a man suspected of being involved in the break-in of a VIP’s house in Satok on Wednesday.

The suspect, said to be in his late 30s, was caught several hours after the break-in not far away from the house after a patrol team chanced upon his car.

A search of the vehicle produced a set of golf clubs which were among the items reported stolen.

A source divulged  that the suspect later led police to an undisclosed location where a number of other suspected stolen items were recovered.

He is currently being detained as police seek to establish whether the man is part of a larger house breaking gang.